Polk Signa S4 Sound Bar and Subwoofer Review

Sound bars are a device people either love or hate. Lovers know they can take the lacklustre tv audio and make it many times better, while detractors think they’re an unnecessary upsell, since TVs already have speakers, right? I’ve reviewed dozens of TVs and sound bars and I can confirm they do make a big difference. In this post I’ll take a look at the Polk Signia S4 sound bar and subwoofer duo. I got to test them out in my home so I can report back on what they’re like to install, use and if I can recommend them for you.
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Shoutouts to ‪@Spitty95‬ and ‪@AlexKadeMusic‬ for letting me sample their tunes in this video.
What is Polk Audio Signa S4?
Like the more affordable Signa S2, the top-tier Polk Audio Signa S4 system consists of a sound bar unit and a subwoofer, but this version gives ou way more for your money.
The Signa S4 sound bar’s seven-speaker array also boasts Dolby Atmos 3.1.2 listening. With a dedicated center channel for clear dialogue plus left and right tweeters and woofers, Polk promises this sound bar will deliver a huge, wide soundstage. Plus, dual up-firing speakers take advantage of Atmos’ height channels to send sounds over your head, creating the affect of 3D sound.
Included in the box is an IR remote control with included battery, a 6-inch HDMI cable, an optical cable, a pair of power cords for the two main components, and a quick start guide.
On-Device and Remote Controls but no app
You’ll find five circular buttons on the top of the Polk Audio Signa S4. These buttons let you power on or off the unit, change the input source, pair with Bluetooth devices, and adjust the volume. If you need to do more fine-tuning, there’s more options on the remote control as you can also adjust the bass, set the music mode, and choose one of the three levels for the VoiceAdjust feature.
Rather, surprisingly, it does not appear that this top-tier Polk sound bar has a companion app.
Setup and Connectivity
Signa S4’s lone HDMI port supports ARC or the audio return channel. But if you have other hardware, the optical and Aux/3.5-mm ports work too.
Connect your preferred cable- in my case HDMI and you’re done-really. The sound bar is smart enough to connect itself to your TV by itself , as it did with my Samsung Frame TV.
The sound bar and subwoofer even come wirelessly paired to eachother from the factory so you shouldn’t have to set the sub woofer up separately. Just place the sub nearby and on the floor and plug it in. I was set up in less than 5 minutes.
Sound quality
I'm just going to cut right to the trees here and say the sound quality from the sound bar blew me away. The sound stage is absolutely massive and completely filled my open concept kitchen and living space with sound. It has a great ability to reach all corners of the room, while still maintaining detail and intricacy in the audio.
I tried it first on a couple of TV shows, and was extremely impressed with the overall sound. I moved on to a blockbuster Hollywood film to see how it would fare and it created a real theatre-like experience. I had the sound bar paired with my 2021Samsung Frame TV, which does have small speakers built-in. Even so those speakers are barely adequate so I have always had a sound bar connected here.
Since the sound bar is Dolby Atmos compatible, I decided to load up a movie that takes advantage of those overhead channels.
Playing music on the sound bar was similarly impressive; It was a huge upgrade from my small countertop Alexa speaker. Listening to jazz, ambient and rock was a joy on the Polk S4.
The bass is powerful and the sub creates a noticeably bolder low end that you can feel in the floorboards, while at the same time it’s not overpowering. I chalk that up to Polk’s BassAdjust mode which controls bass on both the sound bar and sub ensuring seamless blending.
Other Features
Once you got your sound bar up and running, you can try out some of the key features that improve the audio quality a bit further depending on the content you are playing. The remote control has dedicated buttons for movies and music which are basically EQ presets. To improve audio clarity without raising the volume, you may also use the Night Mode feature softens some of the bass.
Voice adjust
Overall Review: Polk Audio Signa S4
The Polk Audio Signa S4 is the sound bar to get if you are after a very simple setup process and you find that the built-in TV speakers don’t quite project the voices in movies very well. The VoiceAdjust technology really works and it doubles as a fabulous BLuetooth music speaker too. The sound quality is outstanding, and having a sound bar that is Dolby Atmos compatible makes a real difference when you're watching blockbuster movies.

[@Spitty95]

Thank you for using my music Erin!

[@forchyforchy5456]

The upside is that over time it'll get louder and sounds better too, unless they pre run review units. Sound bars are especially susceptible to requiring a warm up period , but pretty much all speakers have a breaking in period. So if it has such a good review at the start, it'll be amazing in a month.

[@mikecameron51]

Thanks, Erin! After watching several reviews, you sealed the deal. (After all, if I can't trust you, who can I trust?) I've had two sets of Polk speakers, so I know I'm in good hands.

[@legendpeanut3295]

Im happy that is finally $299 at best buy!!! Definitely gonna get it tmrw

[@felipegonzalezc.3069]

249usd online, on the polkAudio site

[@frecbuha]

S I G N A , not Signia.

[@vegastb]

Erin great review. I am definitely not an audiophile but I know when my tv sounds like two dixie cups connected by string are put to shame by headphones costing less than $100. In the 1980's I bought a pair of Polk floor speakers 36"tall for my stereo system. I enjoyed them for years before handing them down to my daughter. The clerk talked about stereo imaging and a bunch of other stuff I didn't understand lol. When it was all hooked up I understood what he meant. I played a cd and I could visualize the singer down front, the guitars off to the side and the drums up top. The first Star Wars movie I watched you could actually hear the light saber firing across the room. I wonder at this price could you get the same sound effects?

[@charlesburnette1432]

Appreciate all you said, mine just got in, and all I can say is, this is amazing sound all around me, keep up the good work👍👍👍😎😎😎.

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Great to hear! 👍

[@camwoo7143]

Great review! Thanks also for featuring Canadian artists!

[@AJJJ-co2vd]

It would have been nice to have a longer sound demo in the video

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

Noted. Thanks for watching.

[@patscanlan2678]

Some more tablet reviews Erin please if you can!

[@Spitty95]

This is great!! Might need to get one myself

[@jcfhm1]

Hi, the Polk website lists the depth of the sound bar at 3.7”. But you’re saying it’s 7”. Which is correct as that’s a big difference?

[@Jim_Curtis]

I also have a Samsung frame tv. How did you hook up the TV to the soundbar? Is the Polk S4 way better than the Samsung ultra slim soundbar?

[@Ajith984]

Can i connect this wirelessly to my projector?

[@gumtree7177]

Hi was this Polk soundbar only newly released in 2023 ?

[@jvcex]

thanx for review mrs

[@ErinLawrenceTV]

My pleasure 😊

[@10OF9OFBORG]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@1405gecko]

Unfortunately, the Polk always plays with all speakers via ARC and Bluetooth, so pure stereo is not possible with music.

[@Odder-Being]

And what about Aux? Also through all speakers?

[@whya2ndaccount]

2:50: Less than 5 mins to demount the TV, thread the HDMI cable up the wall cavity, connect to the TV and then remount it? Perhaps a little optimistic.

[@geffreycaruso2411]

Signa not Signia....!!!!

[@addanametocontinue]

Yeah, TVs come with built-in speakers, but so do computer monitors and computer chassis. 99% of the time, even a $10 pair of speakers will sound better than the ones that are built into your monitor or chassis. If you're going to pay $100 for a TV, you clearly looking for something to serve a basic need and you'd probably be fine with built-in speakers. Anybody who spends a few hundred dollars on their TV is going to want a better sound system, though; otherwise, why spend that much on a TV if you're gonna go with crappy sound?

[@borg386]

Nice, but about $100 too much.