Polk Audio - Command Bar

After spending what feels like an ungodly number of hours researching and buying/testing/returning soundbars, I wanted to share my experience for anyone in a similar situation in the future. I've been using a 2.1 Polk Command Bar for last 5 years, and unfortunately the subwoofer has started crackling. Very mild crackling, but I figure I take advantage of Christmas pricing now before the problem worsens. As a budget bar, I've been very happy with it. Bass is deep, vocals are decent, obviously nothing extraordinary but surely beats any TV speakers, and friends/family are generally impressed with sound/bass quality. Rocking a Hisense U88H I believe. First, the highly rated Samsung Q600F for $400 CAD on sale. A very popular pick with what seemed like raving reviews all over. With so many excellent reviews and a fairly hefty MSRP, it was a huge disappointment. It's been touted as great bass, vocals, and amazing immersive sound. My opinion: sorely lacks any meaningful deep bass unless the volume is turned up high, sounds seemed muffled, and tones/voices just seemed strange with the 3.1.2 set up. At regular volume, it sounded like there was no subwoofer. Maybe if there's a big explosion or something, but otherwise I may as well be playing off my TV speakers. I tried adjusting sound mode, EQ, subwoofer levels, everything. For a 2025 $700 (CAD) system, I was expecting way more than my existing system. Strongly preferred my Polk bar instead. Returned and looked for other options. Can't say I understand all the great reviews, maybe I'm deaf or dumb, but that's my experience. Next option, Yamaha SRB40A for $370 CAD on sale. Tested this in store and the bass was significantly stronger than the Samsung. Tones sounded muffled in store but I thought maybe it's just the acoustics, or I could change the profile at home. Brought it home and really the same thing. Tried adjusting sound profiles/bass all night and felt the same disappointment as I did for the Samsung. If you like "punchy" bass, this one certainly did well. Bass was strong and shook the house, but the bass was far from deep, and audio sounded muffled overall. My wife even pointed out how muffled/muddy the audio sounded, and she is totally happy with crappy TV speakers. Quick return and back to my Polk bar. If you like bass and want your house to shake without worrying about tone, this one is good. Voices out of the subwoofer just sounded... Off. I feel like the bass was too strong with the vocals? I wish I could word it more accurately but it just did not sound good. Lastly strangely enough, the volume switch increases or decreases by a factor of 2 each time. Was the only soundbar that did this. Next option, tested out the LG S60TR in store as another potential candidate for $350 CAD on sale with the help of an actual LG representative on site. The sound profile was a bit muddy similar to the previous 2. I pointed it out and he agreed. I mentioned I really didn't want any to take a chance bringing this home and testing out with another potential return, and he agreed that I'd need to shop for a Sony or JBL for some true deep bass, or I needed to up my budget. He mentioned he's not an audiophile or anything, but he likes deep bass and clear tones as well, and he's rocking a Sony at home So here comes the Sony Bravia Theatre bar 6 (HT-B600) which is a 3.1.2 system, not to be confused with the 5.1 system. Unfortunately it is the most expensive out of the group at $450 CAD on sale, but the sound is significantly better than anything I tested. Hits decent deep bass, shakes the floor, vocals are clear, and tones are natural sounding without any muffled sounds. I would say it is definitely an upgrade over my 5 year old Polk Command Bar, which was what I was looking for in the first place. A significant upgrade? Sort of, I guess? I say this because I really didn't expect to spend this much, but it seems the options are lacking. I haven't done extensive testing with the whole 3.1.2 thing, but I'd take this 3.1.2 over Samsung's 3.1.2. Voices come out super clear and it's consistent. With the Samsung and Yamahas voice mode, the voices were just strange sounding or inconsistent. So far, the Sony takes the cake there. I do wish it had a LED screen, but it is a nice looking bar, and really the sound is the most important thing at the end of the day. So far my main gripe is I guess there are no preset sound profiles or much of an EQ (you can adjust bass level, though), but the sound out of the box sounds really good as it is so far. I think the only thing I'll say is the Polk subwoofer still hit some deeper bass tones? Will continue testing and may update if I find anything, but this looks like the end of my testing. I wanted to test out the JBL bar 500 with subwoofer or something or the JBL deep bass, but I didn't get a chance, and my head has already been spinning with this experience. Disclaimer: I'm not some expert audiophile, but I do enjoy tech and I enjoy deep bass. I don't mind TV speakers but I do enjoy a nice set up for my home, especially for movies. For reference, I'm happy with my Logitech z623 or whatever it is for my PC. I bought the upgraded trim for my car for better speakers. I have the JBL partybox and the Tribit stormbox blast, and they're both fantastic for their use cases. Maybe I'm tone deaf, maybe I'm being snobby, who knows, but this was my experience and I hope it'll help someone avoid the headache I went through over the last couple weeks. TLDR if you're cross shopping these soundbars for around $350 CAD or so, and you're somewhat picky about sound accuracy and bass quality, save yourself the headache and get the Sony.