Polk N1 39" Bluetooth Gaming SurroundBar Price: $149.99 Shipping Options: $5 Standard OR $15 Two-Day OR $18 One-Day Shipping Estimates: Ships in 1-2 business days (Monday, Jun 23 to Tuesday, Jun 24) + transit Condition: New
So… for a home-theater setting, only one input is useful? If I have Xbox, Cable (Fios) and a DVD player and all three have an optical out, I can only hook one of them up? Is that what I’m understanding? I realize there is a coaxial input too, but I prefer not to use those.
“Single speaker” apparently means “single enclosure.” The online owners manual seems to show that the bar (as with soundbars in general) has multiple speakers inside.
Hi, I work for Polk. The N1 is very flexible when it comes to connectivity and can connect directly to your TV. I have mine connected via optical cable (provided) to the TV and I use my TV to connect my other devices.
So I guess what your saying (without saying it) is that I have to have a pass-through on my TV where the TV accepts the inputs and forwards them to the sound bar. I don’t have that. Not to mention my TV doesn’t have an optical or coaxial out. Only RCA (R/L).
It appears to me that this is only a 2 channel speaker. In theory you should be able to get the same exact sound reproduction from using your TV’s digital optical receptacle. The wizardry (special EQ’s, Dolby, etc…) will happen at the unit. Regardless of how a company bills a product as creating virtual surround - and Sony is the worst with this - linear 2 ch. PCM is still what you’ll get out of a 2 channel speaker. Period. Post processing the sound to create an effect is cool, but it’s still not true surround. I hope that makes sense.
As for your connections, I apologize if I’m being too simplistic, but basically you just connect everything to your TV, then have a single toslink cable to the back of the soundbar from your TV’s digital optical out.
Now, all of that being said, I’m a huge proponent of Polk. The entire front sound stage of my home theater is made up of Polk components. I think they make fantastic speakers for the prices they charge. While I don’t know anything specifically about this soundbar, I would safely assume that it probably sounds pretty darn good. Hope that helps!
The vast majority of flat pannel TVs have numerous input and output options and research tells us that consumers prefer to use the TV as a hub and run a single cable, usually optical, to the bar. Not only is it incredibly easy to set up, but it’s very clean as well (no messy wires just a single cable from the bar to your TV or console). Sorry, this probably doesnt help you much given your situation.
Hi Bill from Polk again. Just
wanted to let everyone know that the N1 is not just for gamers. Because the N1 has gaming, cinema and music modes it’s also a great choice for anyone just craving great home theater sound!
![[Preview 1]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/fb810495-807f-46c8-a0d0-b1b7940591fe.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 2]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/72be46f2-6aec-4056-aea5-c7c81886ec80.jpg){kind=link}
![[Preview 3]](http://d3gqasl9vmjfd8.cloudfront.net/756876ad-a16e-4723-8f47-603de283de4e.jpg){kind=link}
