Polk adds some oomph to its SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater
By Steven Kim 
posted Jan 5th 2009 9:58PM
posted Jan 5th 2009 9:58PM
Getting bass out of a soundbar that conveys proper theater impact is asking for a bit much, so Polk Audio has wisely chosen to add a standalone subwoofer and name the package the SurroundBar SDA Instant Home Theater (IHT). Of course, soundbar shoppers are likely concerned about stringing wires across the living room floor, ceiling, or what have you, so Polk has added a wireless connection between the SurroundBar and the 6.5-inch subwoofer. Nice and tidy, and it'll ship this month for a buck under 
For in case you want to pay too much fake surround sound.
I picked up a Sony HTCT100 for half that, and I'm very happy with my purchase. Its for my bedroom so it was perfect for the price and hassle free install. I hooked up two cables, and with a little adjust on levels I was done.
While the added BASE is a good Idea, I think being wireless is Pointless. I'm just not a fan of Wireless Speaker setups. They never sound all that great. Weak sounding also. For some people the Sound Bar is better then nothing, better then the built in TV speakers, I'd never use one, but they do work somewhat for what they are.
If it does a decent job, the price is OK. A lot better than the $1000 or more when these sound bars first came out. For $1000 you can probably pay someone to wire the room for you nicely and get cheap bookshelf speakers that would sound better. But for $500 and maybe less street price, this ain't bad if you are on a budget or in a small space.