Polk Command Sound Bar Review

Polk has been in business for over forty years and provides quality sound devices for the modern era. As such, the Polk Command Sound Bar stands apart from the crowd, serving as both an outstanding set of speakers and an in-house AI.

Polk encourages you and other consumers to “Just Ask” tasks of the Command Sound Bar, and the AI within will more than readily provide, either by controlling the lights inside your home or by playing the music of your choice.

This sort of device is notably versatile and delightfully high-tech, but is it perfect? Not quite.

Here we break down all the good and the bad, so you can make the most informed buying decision.

Polk Command Sound Bar: The Details

Specs

• Dimensions: 4 inches x 43.3 inches x 2.1 inches.
• Weight: 21.8 lbs.
• Compatible with: 4k and HD TVs.
• Amazon Alexa: Included.

Features

Customizable Voice

It’s worth noting that while the Polk Command Sound Bar is a set of speakers, it is also an Alexa-enabled sound bar, meaning that it can easily double as an AI assistant.

A number of other AIs allow you to customize the voice of your assistant, making it more soothing or accented, depending on your preference. The Polk Command Sound Bar, though, ensures that it not only speaks to you in a voice of your choosing, but that it comes to better understand your personalized slang.

Through deep machine learning, the AI assistant will pick up on the inflections in your tone and your most commonly used words in order to better address your needs.

So, the longer you own this device, the better it’ll be at differentiating your carefully spoken words from your offhanded demand to crank the funky tunes.

Deep Bass Subwoofers

Just because the Polk Command Sound Bar comes along with Amazon Alexa, doesn’t mean that Polk has lessened its attention to sound.

The deep bass subwoofers that come with the speakers amplify the quality of music that you listen to, enriching the sound and deepening your listening experience – so long as you don’t use them to irritate your neighbors.

Then again, the AI is your personal assistant – so we doubt it’ll refuse you!

Streaming Shows and Music

Because you’ll also be able to connect the Polk Command Sound Bar to your internet, as well as your television, you can use the device to stream shows and music.

Connect your Netflix and Amazon Prime account to your sound bar with ease, and before long, you’ll be able to watch all of your favorite shows with excellent sound quality.

Likewise, any music-listening service that you prefer to use, like Spotify or Pandora, will provide you better quality music than if listened to with regular speakers.

Automatically Updates

In addition to all of that, the Polk Command Sound Bar updates automatically. This means that no matter what kind of update Amazon institutes for its AI, you won’t have to do the searching and downloading yourself.

Instead, your sound bar will always be up to date and provided with the best sound quality and interaction between your bar and any devices you have connected to it.

How Does it Work?

The Polk Command Sound Bar brings the Internet of Things, or the IoT, into your home. This does, of course, mean that the device requires Internet in order to work.

However, with the age of Wi-Fi well upon us, you shouldn’t have any problem connecting it not only to your television, but to your lights, thermostat, garage doors, or other smart devices that you have around your home. The Polk Command Sound Bar can even interact with other AI assistants.

You will need to create an account with Polk in order for the sound bar to work, of course, but the process is simple. Before long, you’ll be able to operate any number of devices with simple, spoken commands to your sound bar.

Polk Audio: The Brand

Polk Audio has been in operation since 1972 and has a long reputation for providing quality speakers to folks in the United States.

Founded by Matt Polk, the company now stands on the cusp of change. Facing the rise of the Internet, Polk prides itself on the dynamic balance it’s established with its Wi-Fi-connected speakers, including the aforementioned sound bar.

The company’s flexibility and willingness to evolve with ever-improving technology speaks to their proved longevity.

The company is likely to continue providing consistent and masterful sound quality to folks who purchase their products for years to come.

Polk Command Sound Bar Review

The Positives

Excellent Ability to Connect

The Polk Command Sound Bar has no problem at all connecting to your internet, according to testers, let alone connecting to the other smart devices in your home.

You will have to physically move to connect them, of course, but maintaining that connection shouldn’t be any trouble at all.

This excellent ability to remain connected to the internet and to other products – should they be available – means that your Polk Command Sound Bar should always be in operation.

However, if your internet goes out, it’ll be good to have a backup plan in mind; without the Internet, it’s possible that the other devices you have connected to the Polk Command Sound Bar may be less than perfectly operational.

Durable

Even though the Polk Command Sound Bar is larger than the average AI assistant, it is a durable machine that is unlikely to break, even if a passing child accidentally pushes it onto the floor.

You’ll be able to set up the sound bar wherever you like without concern for its longevity.

Unobtrusive

There are a great number of AI assistants out there in the world, so each has to work in order to differentiate themselves from a vast market.

The Polk Command Sound Bar is, however, one of the best sound bars available, because it looks so much like a standard, elongated speaker.

When it comes to packing multiple uses into one device, this product certainly aims to deliver, providing you with a sleek, normal-speaker look on the outside, with great intelligence on the inside.

This makes the Polk Command Sound Bar a great device for those short on space, since it will fit seamlessly into wherever you decide to put it. Your guests may not even realize it’s there depending on where you place it.

And if you’re worried about this device clashing with your decor, it will be hard to do so with its slender design.

Great for Multi-Tasking

If you like to run multiple things in a household at once (watching Netflix, for example, while also looking up recipes for dinner and opening the garage to let someone in) then the Polk Command Sound Bar is the right AI assistant for you.

This sound bar can handle a number of requests simultaneously without getting the instructions confused. Perfect for a busybody or a busy home.

You can connect your Polk Sound Bar to other smart devices in your home, and interact with them all from this device. Control your lights, garage door, locks, and whatever other smart devices you have from one system.

This also defeats the need for purchasing a device like Amazon Alexa and speakers separately, since you can have it all in one small, unobtrusive package.

Easy to Set-Up

The Polk Command Sound Bar is a breeze to get up and running, regardless if you’re handy or not. It comes with the cables you need, including an HDMI cable, saving you that extra hassle of buying an extra one. If you already have one, you’ll be happy to have an extra on hand.

You’ll have the app downloaded to guide you through the installation process, which is already pretty painless, and you’ll have your Polk Sound Bar installed in no time. In some cases, less than five minutes!

This makes this device less intimidating to those new to smart technology, as it doesn’t require much knowledge (if any at all) about the device from the user to get going.

The Negatives

Batteries Required

Funnily enough, the Polk Command Sound Bar also requires batteries in order to operate. It’s notable and inconvenient since two AA batteries will run out of juice quickly and require additional purchases, while most high tech devices offer a recharging function instead.

This can be circumvented by purchasing rechargeable AA batteries, but nonetheless – it’s a pain! Keep this need in mind when setting up your sound bar, and have some batteries on hand.

Customer Service

While Polk offers a good warranty with the Command Sound Bar, some customers weren’t too happy with the customer service department.

A couple customers were disappointed that Polk’s service department seems to move slow. It seems that responses to emails were very delayed, or customers were placed on hold for a long time.

This is one area the company needs to work on, and we hope to see better service from Polk soon.

Here’s a video showing what the Polk Command Bar looks like out of the box and set-up.

Overall Verdict

Generally speaking, the Polk Command Sound Bar is an excellent device which fulfills the purpose of a set of speakers as well as an AI assistant.

If you’re looking for a versatile device that will help your home become more Internet-savvy, then this is just right for you. Just be sure to have some batteries on hand.

Where to Buy the Polk Command Sound Bar

It’s clear that the Polk brand knows what they’re doing when it comes to audio, and by modernizing this device with the integration of smart AI, they’ve brought their brand to a whole other level.

Enthusiasts and smart device lovers have been keeping their eye on this company with the announcement of the Polk Command Sound Bar, and with customers satisfied with their purchase, this brand is growing again in popularity.

While still fairly new on the smart market, this brand has been around for some time, making it easier to find products like the Polk Command Sound Bar on the shelves of retailers both in-store and online.

While it’s always best to check tech, home department, or audio-video stores, you can kick-start your search with the following online retailers.

• Best Buy (from $249)
• Adorama (from $299)
• PC Richard and Son (from $299)

And of course, you can also find this sound bar on Amazon.

That’s the end of our Polk Command Sound Bar review. Are you curious to give it a try?