The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is a premium 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar. With a hefty subwoofer and two satellite speakers, it's designed to bring an immersive, all-around sound right to the comfort of your living room. It lacks premium features like voice assistant support or a room correction tool. Still, it offers more basic customization settings like bass and treble adjustments and a voice enhancement tool.
Our Verdict
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is great for mixed usage. This 7.1.2 soundbar offers versatile performance with support for many audio formats commonly found on streaming platforms and Blu-rays. Its surround speakers are designed to bring a more all-around feel to multichannel content like Dolby Digital. It gets loud, too. That said, it doesn't offer as many sound enhancement features as more premium bars on the market. Its default sound is also a bit uneven, which impacts the quality of voices in the mix.
- Extended low-bass.
- Supports Dolby Atmos.
- No room correction.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is excellent for dialogue-centric podcasts and TV shows. This 7.1.2 setup reproduces voices with relative clarity and accuracy thanks to its discrete center channel. Though they're a bit recessed in the mix out-of-the-box, you can use its 'Voice' tool to enhance them for a clearer sound. Podcast lovers will also appreciate that the bar supports many wireless playback options, so it's easy to stream your favorite shows right to the bar.
- Gets loud.
- Voice enhancement tool.
- No room correction.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is very good for music. Its subwoofer can reproduce a deep and extended low-bass that brings out all the thump and rumble in bass-heavy genres like EDM, and it gets really loud. There's a little extra boominess in the high-bass, too. Voices are recessed, though, due to a dip in the mid-range. You can always use its bass and treble adjustments to make up for this, as well as its 'Voice' enhancement tool to improve the sound of voices in the mix.
- Gets loud.
- Extended low-bass.
- Bass and treble adjustments.
- No room correction.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is very good for movies. It supports many audio formats commonly found on streaming platforms and Blu-rays, including Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos. Its discrete center channel is designed to improve vocal reproduction in the mix, and its satellite speakers bring a more clear and real feel to multichannel audio. That said, its performance with height content like Atmos isn't the most impressive, as it struggles to create the illusion of height within the room around you.
- Extended low-bass.
- Supports Dolby Atmos.
- No room correction.
Changelog
- Updated Sep 01, 2023: Added more detail to the Surround 5.1 box regarding test tone discrepancies.
- Updated Sep 01, 2023: Review published.
- Updated Aug 29, 2023: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 10, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is available in Black, and you can see the label for the model we tested here.
If you come across another version of this soundbar, let us know in the forums.
Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is a 7.1.2 setup that's the flagship bar from this manufacturer. Compared to other models like the Polk Audio MagniFi MAX SR, this soundbar supports Dolby Atmos content and adds two additional surround channels for better performance. That said, though, it doesn't offer as many sound enhancement tools as models from other manufacturers, and its height performance isn't the most impressive.
You can also check out our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best soundbars for movies, and the best soundbars for music.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is better than the Polk Audio Signa S4. The Max AX SR is a better-built soundbar with discrete satellites to improve its surround sound. It gets louder, too, and it offers a more extended low-bass. You have more wireless playback options, too.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is better than the Polk Audio MagniFi MAX SR. The AX SR is better built and comes with two additional surround channels. Plus, it adds support for Dolby Atmos, so you can take advantage of height content commonly found on various streaming services.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR is better than the Polk Audio Signa S2. The S2 is a 2.1 setup that's designed for stereo content like most music and TV shows. It lacks discrete satellites and Atmos support, unlike the AX SR. If you want a simpler bar, though, the S2 may still be an okay choice.
The Polk Audio Magnifi Max AX SR and the Sony HT-A7000 with Speakers + Bass Module are both 7.1.2 setups with different strengths. The Sony is a better-built setup that comes with more sound enhancement features, such as room correction. Its stereo soundstage is better, too, and it brings a more immersive sound with height content. However, the Polk Audio gets much louder with less compression at max volume.
Test Results
