CES 2016: Sound United

I spent quite a bit of time with the Sound United folks at the 2016 CES taking a look at the new offerings from both the Polk Audio and Definitive Technology brands.

First up was the Omni series, where we stopped over to take a look at the S2R, which is the updated from the SB1 that was introduced last year. There have been a couple of major updates from the SB1 to the SR2, including adding a metal grill and including a Bluetooth adapter so that it will work with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The lack of Bluetooth was a bit of a detriment for the SB1, but the adapter that will be included with the SR2 solves that issue. The speaker array is also in stereo, so whether it is vertical or horizontal, you will get the same great sound. On the floor, the SB1 was being used in conjunction with the SB1-Plus sound bar to create a surround system, but you can use one, two or even three SR2 models across the back side of your home theater setup to get a rear surround and/or center experience.

Next up was the aforementioned Polk Audio Omni SB1-Plus speaker bar with VoiceAdjust. This model is an updated version of the Omni SB1 with the primary addition being Bluetooth connectivity and Polk’s VoiceAdjust technology. The VoiceAdjust technology lets you isolate and adjust the voice channel level to reproduce the best dialogue, similar to options provided on home theater receivers. Also included with the SB1 Plus is a powered downward firing powered sub. I listened to a couple of demos on the floor, and despite all the ancillary noise, the SB1 Plus coupled with the SR2 surrounds had a great sound and replicated the movie clips well. With the addition of the SB1 Plus and the SR2s, Polk has created an excellent wireless home theater system family.

One of the highlights for me was the first chance I have had to experience the Definitive Technologies Symphony 1 Headphones. The Symphony 1 are active noise-cancelling with Bluetooth connectivity and feature 50mm drivers, which are bigger than the Polk Audio 8000 headphones (previously reviewed), which only use 40mm drivers. They are over-the-ear design, durable and made with lightweight aluminum and sounded absolutely fantastic for the few songs I was able to play through on the show floor. These are already available at retail for $399 MSRP, but they are worth every penny form the limited time I spent with them. I hope to get my hands on a pair of these for a full review in the near future.

I thought the folks at Sound United brought some fantastic items to CES for both the Definitive Technologies and Polk Audio brands. There is reason these two companies are always one of the most highly rated products on the market. We hope to bring several of their products in for review this year, so keep checking back.