Hasta La Gadget!

For folks who have not heard about Polk before, well, here we are with a short note on them. Polk happens to be a high-performance audio brand that comes with 40 years of sound, engineering and design expertise, and they have recently announced that they will be making available a couple of products available to the masses. First of all would be the Melee gaming headset that was specially developed for the Xbox 360 console, while there is also the Polk N1 sound bar that delivers an immersive soundstage for gaming as well as entertainment regardless of the gaming platform, with the new Xbox One included. I guess the Xbox 360 still has some life left in its legs despite all of the recent buzz that surrounded next generation game consoles.

Why would we recommend either one of these to those who game on Microsoft’s consoles? Well, that is because Polk has also extended its partnership with Microsoft all the way until the end of next year, which would result in additional opportunities for product development in the gaming category, while Polk’s sound engineers continue to work with Microsoft’s 343 and Turn 10 Studios to deliver better quality audio in their titles.

The Melee gaming headset will boast of Polk’s proprietary electronic and acoustic tuning in addition to a DSP Amplifier, ensuring that your ears are treated to a richer, fuller listening experience. Accompanied by a retractable near-field microphone, users are able to carry out chats with one another, as well as to take calls. It will tuck itself smoothly into the ear cup whenever it is not in use. Other than that, Polk’s thumb-reach Audio Mixer would also enable users to adjust listening modes, audio and chat levels, all without the need to remove their hands from the controller.

As for the N1 sound bar, it has been licensed by Microsoft and designed for the newest Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. You will be treated to an upscale design which complements the console’s slimmer form factor, while the sound bar leverages Dolby Digital and a quartet of immersion modes which will enable gamers to achieve a balance between unique listening scenarios in addition to music, ambient details, special effects and dialogue.

The Polk Melee and N1 sound bar will retail for $199.95 and $299.95, respectively.

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[ Polk announces N1 sound bar and Melee gaming headset copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is from Shoheb, who wants a soundbar and doesn’t want to miss his surround sound set up. If you’re looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“I’m looking for a reasonably-priced soundbar that’s got the power and quality that I won’t miss 5-point surround sound set up. Is such a thing possible? Thanks!”

A few months back we saw a demonstration of the Orbitsound M12 and we were blown away by its ability to dominate the sound even in a crowded trade-show hall. We’ve also heard plenty of good things about Sony’s HT-CT260, given its reasonable price, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Philips’ Fidelio HTL9100 with detachable speakers (should you need more immersive sound). Of course, that’s three from the top of our heads, we dare the Engadget community to suggest some more.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Portable Audio/Video, HD

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British audio company, Orbitsound, has been gunning for the spot just under your TV for a while. It’s newest device, the SB60 airSOUND Base, is the latest contender for this front-room real estate. The one-box solution measures 60cm x 30cm x 8cm, and squeezes in two front-facing speakers, another pair of “side-firing” ones (to add width,) plus a subwoofer for… well, you know. There’s an optical connection for the TV audio, or a 3.5mm jack if you want to pipe anything else through it. The airSOUND Base’s all black finish will likely match most of the sets you’d want place on top, though there is a changeable silver grille if this is more to your taste. Orbitsound claims it’s particularly suitable for 32- to 42-inch screens, but can handle many others right unto 55″. The SB60 airSOUND Base goes on sale in the UK today for £299.

Filed under: Home Entertainment

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I recently had the opportunity to swap out the 5.1 audio system in my living room with the Vizio S3821 2.1 soundbar and subwoofer. This slimline sound system is a great way to add high quality sound to your flat-screen TV without having to run a bunch of wires, and without breaking the bank.

The speaker bar itself measures 38″ (w) x 3.6″ (h) x 2.9″ (D) and fits nicely beneath or in front of most flat screen TVs 40″ diagonal and up. It also comes with mounting hardware should you choose to wall mount it instead. In addition to the soundbar, the system includes a small powered subwoofer (13.5″ (w) x 11″ (h) x 6″ (d)) that you can set anywhere you have a power outlet, thanks to a wireless connection to the main speaker.

Connecting the Vizio soundbar is simple. The easiest way to go is to connect its optical or coax digital input to the corresponding output on your TV set. Most modern sets can do the switching between multiple video inputs, then output audio using one of these methods. This way, you avoid the need for switching inputs on the soundbar. That said, it does offer a total of six inputs, including one each of digital optical, digital coax, RCA analog stereo, 3.5mm mini and USB. The fifth input is a wireless connection for Bluetooth devices. Vizio is kind enough to include optical, coax and RCA cables in the box. Inputs can be switched from the remote control, and are displayed on the face of the soundbar using a set of small white LEDs. In my case, I only connected a single optical cable to my TV and paired my mobile devices.

Speaking of Bluetooth devices, this thing was a dream when paired with my iPhone and HTC One. Music quality was exceptional, providing room-filling sound in my 400+ sq. ft. living room, and a wide soundstage that bested the dedicated 5.1 speakers I currently have. Its included remote control can also be used to operate your Bluetooth device, including play, pause and track controls.

But the music capabilities of the Vizio 2.1 soundbar are really a bonus. The main use case for this system is for watching movies and television programs, and playing video games, and I’m happy to say it handled all of these with aplomb. I found the sound quality of the soundbar to be quite satisfying, with good dynamic range, and imperceptible distortion even when pushed to the highest volume level it could push out.

The 6″ powered subwoofer isn’t going to make your walls shake the way they do in a theater, but it does offer enough punch to get the point across. Oddly enough, Vizio doesn’t provide wattage specs for the speakers – they only say that frequency response ranges from 50Hz to 19KHz, and that the system can push out 100dB of sound at 1 meter with less than 1% THD.

Top volume for the system isn’t going to make your eardrums bleed, but it is plentiful – more than enough to wake the neighbors and fill a large living space, and its really nice that there’s no crackling or unexpected vibration at peak volume levels. When using the system, I did find that turning on DTS TruSurround offered the best overall experience, as it created an extremely large and open soundstage, and did an admirable job providing a sense of surround when watching movies and playing games. That said, you won’t be able to pinpoint sound locations like you could with dedicated speakers for each surround channel. The system also supports DTS TruVolume for keeping volume levels consistent. Personally, I’m not a fan of messing with dynamic range in that way, so I left that off.

Overall, I was more than pleased with the quality of the Vizio S3821 soundbar. It’s more than sufficient for anyone looking to add high quality sound to their living room without breaking the bank, and works well for a wide variety of content. It’s priced at just $179.99(USD) and can be purchased direct from Vizio, though you can find it over at Amazon for about $20 less.

Vizio’s 42-inch soundbar is all fine and dandy, but not everyone has the TV or budget to justify that kind of audio — college students, anyone? The company is clearly aware of this problem, as it just announced three soundbars built for smaller screens like those in the M-Series. The 29-inch S2920w ($80) and 38-inch S3820w ($120) cater to simple setups with 2.0-channel sound, while the 38-inch S3821w ($180) adds a wireless subwoofer for some extra oomph. All three support Bluetooth streaming from nearby devices, and they use DTS audio processing to both fill out the frequency range and hush noisy commercials. The soundbars will ship between late August and September, or just in time for the annual dorm room invasion.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Vizio