Polk Audio Signa S3 Sound Bar for TV & Wireless Subwoofer with Built-in Chromecast & Google Assistant, Low-Profile Design, Works with 8K, 4K & HD TVs, Bluetooth and Wireless Streaming

Aug 30, 2020 Update: Still loving it ... We have, since first review, tried and succeeded in getting our Google speaker (Google Assistant) to cast its music to the Polk Signa S3 Soundbar/subwoofer - which is precisely why I anted up for the S3 model. (The secret seems to be to assign a name to the soundbar as a device, in my case 'Living Room Speaker', using the Google Home app (done on my phone) and then you can use a voice command to just tell Ms Google 'OK Google, play music on the Living Room Speaker'). Anyway, that wifi access is a feature of the S3 level of this Polk product - very happy with that feature. (If I have this correctly, this works because the Google Assistant device and the Polk device are on the same wifi router - I don't know that it works of you have one on 2.4GHz and the other on your 5GHz, just sayin'.) We stream a lot of music from YouTube on the Sony Smart TV, also, so having the Polk Signa for that is a big upgrade from the TV speakers. Love this soundbar, incl the bluetooth access and wifi access, and would definitely buy this Signa S3 again. I had in mind a $300 budget while shopping for such a device and I'm very happy to have come in under budget with a great audio outcome. --- We haven't tried the access from our Google Assistant/Speaker yet, but very happy with this Soundbar/Subwoofer set. I first set it up on our LG Smart UHD with the ARC HDMI connection to try it out. It went so smoothly and easily (the LG TV setup has a selection to route audio to the ARC HDMI port) - this went so quickly that I decided to plug in the Subwoofer also to see how that went and bingo - came right on line (subwoofer has a button in back to press to sync with soundbar). But that LG system of ours normally is optical audio out to a stereo with our BIG JBLs (quad 10" :) so I then moved the Polk to our Sony Bravia, also using ARC HDMI for audio connection. For the Sony, no TV Setting selection change was required - Sony just routed the audio out ARC HDMI once the Polk soundbar was plugged in and powered up. Had the same quick success with subwoofer - came on line immediately after button push on the back of subwoofer speaker. The Sony TV and our Xfinity Cable/DVR remotes both cause the soundbar to power up/down when 1/0 pressed on remote. They also control the volume on the soundbar appropriately. (Of course, the Polk remote still controls audio properly, also.) Bluetooth came up and worked easily. Will update once we've experimented with bluetooth and Google Assistant access. I see in the manual, page 4, that there is a way to disable the auto-standby feature which many purchasers seem to complain about. I have not played with that (hold down Night Mode button for 5+ seconds). BTW, I love that for both the soundbar and subwoofer, the power cords plug right into the box with NO bricks - I hate bricks (aka, external transformers).

Awesome for the price! If you’re on a budget like me, this is a great choice!

I got this for my mom as a mother's day gift. She loves it and I thought i would be a great addition to add to her google home speakers. It was fine for a few months and then the connectivity issues began to happen. Mainly google chromecast. Seems like every couple of weeks my mom is calling or texting regarding connectivity issues. It's annoying! I don't want to blame the soundbar because polk has made a soild and great sounding system. And I also have chromecast built-in speakers at home and I too have these issues occasionally, if not a lot, on my system as well. Clearly google is pushing out and imposing a mediocre, if not faulty, product on companies and consumers and we're just now suffering the concequences. The other problem that I have with this and other chromecast devices is that, while you are suffering with connectivity issues, you rarely see any updates to fix these problems. I have an LG chromecast built-in in my bedroom and it's been two years since its last update. meanwhile I am constatly deleating and adding it to my google home just to get it working again. This Polk system hasn't seen an update since i got it for my mom last year and it could probably use one. That being said, If you buy this equiptment, buy it for the sound quality. The remote is a little lack luster and I wouldn't recommend that you buy it if the chromecast is what's drawing you to purchase it, as it will leave you frustrated over time.

This Polk Audio Signa S3 was the best purchased I made. After the bought my Sony Bravia HDTV. The sound from the TV sounded muffle and after I saw this Polk Audio Soundbar and set it up. It was the missing puzzle I ve been waiting. The music sound astonishing with the bass from the subwoofer. It's a good thing I decided to purchased my soundbar with a subwoofer, otherwise I will be disappointed with just flat loud sound and no bass. Great purchase, but the packing needs more improvement. The box was ripped and dented after arrived. Luckily it was protected from the included Styrofoam. Other than that, I have no complaint. I'm enjoying my movies and music. Keep up with the good work Polk

I was unable to get any sound at all from this soundbar, with one unacceptable exception. When connected via HDMI using the HDMI-ARC connection on my 1-year-old TV, the TV could read the model number via HDMI-CEC, and recognized the Signa S3 as a soundbar. The TV remote should control the soundbar's power and the volume; the power worked, but there was no sound. Using the Polk Audio remote, the TV showed it was seeing the volume signal increase, decrease, and mute, but still no sound. Adding the optical cable also resulted in no sound. Power cycling everything, waiting patiently, doing a rain dance, etc., and still no sound. Unplugging the soundbar from the TV resulted in the TV speakers (which were still enabled) immediately coming on, showing that the TV thought the soundbar was working. Called Polk Audio Technical Support. After some discussion ("It is plugged in?"), I was told to try the soundbar using only the optical cable. This worked, and the sound was good. However, without HDMI support, it is necessary to use 1 remote to turn on the TV and the Polk Audio remote to adjust the volume. This is unacceptable to me, as it defeats the entire purpose of using a soundbar. (This is what HDMI-ARC and HDMI-CEC were created to do!) I informed Technical Support I would be returning the soundbar immediately. I own other Polk Audio speakers, but will not be buying anything else from that brand.

This was the 3rd soundbar I tried as the first wasn't compatible with my tv, the 2nd had great reviews but to me, had a very empty sound and added little value above the tv speaker. So when I connected this, I was skeptical. Not only does it have absolute fullness of sound, but I literally did not have to do any setup at all with the tv settings. It connected seamlessly via the HDMI arc. I appreciate that you have the option to select the level of voice clarity you want, as well as the ability to control the bass independently. I highly recommend this soundbar. The only change I would make is to include Alexa compatibility. The only disappointment was that I ordered the 2nd one during prime days and by the time I connected it and realized it did not have the quality I wanted, prime days were over and I paid a higher price for this one. But in the end, it was worth it.

Nice system, easy to hookup. Very clear voice sound. Expected more bass, does not hit hard on the bass.

This was purchased to replace a basic Bose soundbar purchased several years ago. In addition to looking for good sound quality, two of the biggest selling points for us was the bluetooth and Google Home integration features. 1. Setup: Basically plug-n-play in regards to the basic set up. Instructions are very clear regardless of what connection you make between the TV and the bar; I used the optical 'cable', plugged in the bar, plugged in the base, turned on the TV and it worked like a charm. One of the things I liked right way was the bar turned on and off with the TV. There is one little issue with this if you use it with Google Home (or Alexa) for music; it may through the on-off sync between the bar and tv off (when you turn the TV on the bar goes off and vice-versa). To compensate for this I also set up my Dish remote's aux function to operate the bar. 2. Google Home integration: Took about 5 seconds using the Google Home app. Through the app or voice commands (phone, Dish remote, Nest mini, etc.), you can play your favorite music; we use Spotify and it works great. 3. Sound quality: Sound quality is excellent and comparible to old, more expensive Bose sound bar it replaced. Overall, we are very happy with this bar from all aspects and would highly recommend it.

Google assistant works well, bluetooth works wells, sound is best-in-class for the price and the subwoofer is bassy and full sounding. The remote control is not very useful or effective, however I have never needed it as all of the functions work perfectly and there is no need to adjust. Use your TV remote, phone, or google assistant to set the volume and it will adjust the sound bar automatically.

Outstanding sound. Nice esthetics. Very impressed!

Remote is very basic. Volume control goes up 3 positions at a time instead of one level at a time. No visual cues on screen when you adjust volume, bass, connect or disconnect, that can be a pain not getting any feedback. Basically it's a guessing game. The sound is pretty good, bass is good from sub. Connectivity through HDMI-arc was simple. Casting music works perfectly. Overall this is good value, works well and easy to operate. Just quirky for user feedback.

Polk Audio has been around even longer than I have! LOL. I expected great quality when I ordered this speaker. I was NOT disappointed! It was SIMPLE to install and the controls and sound are many times better than the TV speaker. I LOVE being able to lower the background noise of the program so that I can hear the dialogue. No longer do I have to have the subtitles on or the volume turned way up to know what the actors are saying. AWESOME!! Would definitely buy again and have no trouble endorsing this company and this product!

I'm sure this is likely a very good product. I like the brand very much. However, I found it difficult to set up. I'm at the point in my life where if I have to troubleshoot for too long, I just couldn't be bothered any more. I love the brand so I wouldn't right them off completely. I know their stuff sounds amazing. I just like stuff that sets itself up easily and this didn't do it right away. After a lifetime of troubleshooting computer related gear, I've had enough. I'm done.