Polk Audio AM1805 SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (Black)

by Polk Audio

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 31.8 x 4.6 x 3.9 inches ; 8.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 27 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001QCYHXC
• Item model number: AM1805-A
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #3,286 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)

  #5 in

  Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Home Theater Systems > DVD Home Theater

• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 18, 2005

Product Description

Product Description

Legendary Polk Audio sound combines with Polk Digital Logic to make watching TV and movies not only more exiting, but increadibly easy. Using a single SurroundBar loudspeaker and a wireless subwoofer, the SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater produces a generous soundstage and rich, full sound. To get started, connect the Surroundbar SDA to your TV and plug in its power cord. Then plug in the wireless subwoofer. Polk Audios patented SDA tehnology and Polk Digital Logic does the rest, bringing spectacular performance and convenience to all of us whose budget is limited but whose desire for great sound is not.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice little system but.., March 3, 2009

By	Mark A. Garman (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Polk Audio AM1805 SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (Black) (Electronics)

It gives a good bang for the buck but there were a couple of issues that I had with it. Firstly, it is very easy to setup and install which is a plus. The wireless sub fits conveniently anywhere in a room and provides a nice bass. Where is the remote? Where are the directions? These things were not in the box. I am guessing the remote wasn't supposed to be there. It took me a few days to figure out that when you turn the tv off and on the sound bar will automatically sense input from the TV and then turn itself on without having to manually press the power button which is nice. But I would have liked to have read that in a manually and not figure it out for myself. Overall I love the simplicity that this system provides and combined with good performance I would recommend it to someone who doesn't want to hassle with a big surround system but wants something a little extra in the sound department.

EDIT: I was able to find directions online that show you how to synch it to any universal remote. I also found my directions under the couch after a few weeks. Guess I should have looked more. Overall this is a great system for a small to medium room. A must have for those weak speakers that come with your tv.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice, September 20, 2009

By	SherryMarie (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Polk Audio AM1805 SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (Black) (Electronics)

I purchased one of these because my husband is an old rocker and his hearing isn't as good as it used to be. He'd given up watching TV on our 46" Samsung LCD because of muddy sound. I don't know whether we blew a speaker (which we've done on every other stereo and car we've owned) or whether it was just the tiny, tinny speakers in the TV. (Time out for pet peeve: We paid a LOT of money for this TV 2 years ago; you'd think they could put decent speakers in it. OK, back in) He was always asking me what people had said. I wasn't sure one of these would 'fix' it, but it did. We pulled it out of the box and plugged one cable into the wall for power and one into the TV for audio (actually 2 together, you know how they do left and right, red and yellow). We turned the TV speakers off and started enjoying TV immediately. Then my son insisted that we had to use the subwoofer. I thought extra noise was part of our problem and didn't want to add anything more. We plugged it into power and placed it behind my husband's chair. Wonderful. You don't actually hear stuff from this, more like you feel the sound. And this woofer is wireless, so other than needing power, you can put it ANYWHERE in the room. Apparently it's not like the 3.1/5.1/7.1 speakers where placement is so critical (at least according to those audiophiles). And it only took a few seconds to train our remote to drive it. You hold down a button and count the blinks. When it reaches 3 or something it's programmed.

So, easy setup of soundbar, able to use existing remote, and decent looking design. What's not to love.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Sound, No Fuss., November 23, 2009

By	Tenor At Law - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Polk Audio AM1805 SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (Black) (Electronics)

I'll start with my current set up and what my expectations were. I have a 47" Philips LCD TV, all the major gaming systems, and I also use my LCD TV as a computer monitor. I was looking for a speaker system with a subwoofer for around $400. I didn't want to buy a receiver if I didn't have to for my set up. I had researched and heard several soundbar systems before deciding on this one. All of my gaming systems and my laptop connect directly into the TV through HDMI cables. The speakers are connected to the TV through the "TV Out" connection. Overall, I am very, very happy with it.

The soundbar itself is smaller than expected. The mid and high rannge sounds are great. One concern that I had with soundbar systems was the ability to hear dialogue. Many soundbar systems I listened to had muffled dialogue that was difficult to hear at times. This soundbar does not suffer from any of those qualities. Dialogue is easy to hear from all sources.

The subwoofer has very good bass output. One of the nicest things about this system is the fact that the subwoofer is wireless. I have a smaller living room, and 8 foot ceilings, so for my space this subwoofer is more than adequate. As other reviewers have noted, a seperate 5.1 or 7.1 system and seperate receiver have the potential of creating more robust sound. You have to consider the space you are working with and of course, your budget. The Polk soundbar is by far better than any speakers that an LCD TV can offer.

The best part about this system was the ease of set up. It took literally less than ten minutes to take everything out of the box and connect it to my TV. My universal remote control is used to adjust the volume. This system is great deal for the price, and the best part about the system was the ease of set up. It sounds fantastic, and provides a very full and pleasing bass. I am completely happy with this purchase, and I would buy it again in an instant.