Polk Audio I-Sonic Theater System
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Similar in Home Theater Systems
- Included Components: DVD Player
- Number Of Speakers: 4 Speakers
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$1,299.00
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Expensive, But Worth It. HD Radio, XM, CD, You Got It.
Pros
Great Sound, Numerous Features, Less Space Required, HD Radio Multicasting (HD2), Aux Inputs, Video Output.
Cons
Expensive, Not for Everyone, No Integrated Sirius Controls (only XM), Some Technical Savvy Required.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Choose this over the Bose and never regret it. You could have this and nothing else in your living room and be just fine.
My wife bought me this for my birthday as I had been eyeballing it but didn't want to fork over the serious cash for it. I especially liked two things over my wife's Bose Wave Radio w/ CD when researching it. It can be controlled at the unit itself (i.e. if the remote is missing), and it is HD Radio capable. Also the bass and treble are adjustable on this unit, whereas they are not on the Bose. But there is so much more to love when you get this radio.
The sound quality is amazing. I haven't done any dramatic tests for side-by-side comparisons, but I can tell you this stereo sounds better than the Bose Wave Radio my wife has. It produces superior sound and can do so at higher decibels. The Polk I-Sonic uses four speakers, versus the Bose with only 2. Both are fantastic, but the Polk wins over the Bose, which I had always considered the standard in shelf systems.
The HD Radio functionality is very easy to use. Simply select the tuner and find a station you want to listen to. If the station is broadcasting in HD, then the I-Sonic switches over to the digital broadcast seamlessly. Listening to an HD radio station is even clearer than satellite radio. It's almost as good as having a CD and better than satellite. Also many HD stations are multicasting - using the digital transmission to carry another signal, often a different format than the traditional analog transmission, but just as clear as it can be. The web site FAQ says that the I-Sonic can pick up as many multicasts as the station cares to transmit. I don't know if there is a theoretical limit to the number they can transmit - I haven't seen anyone transmitting more than 2 signals. AM stations sound better in HD, too. They don't pack the punch of FM in HD, but the hisses and pops go away, provided you get a strong enough signal, for which Polk provides both an FM external antenna and an AM external antenna. I do recommend connecting both of these if you can connect them and hide them away. They dramatically improve reception.
The CD player is more than a CD player. It plays DVDs (including RCA composite video and S-video output for your television), and discs of MP3s. The text of the MP3s will be displayed much like a normal MP3 player for ease of navigation. I've used this to watch movies on the TV, and this stereo could be the cornerstone of an entertainment system, requiring only a TV to connect to. The sound it produces is ample for the average home use watching movies in the living room, and the auxiliary inputs would allow you to listen to your regular broadcasts over the I-Sonic.
The display is big and bright, and to be honest might be a little too bright for use in the bedroom (where I have mine). It's practically a night-light when it comes out of the box. Fortunately, this can be adjusted - but the medium and low settings seem very dark and hard to see during the daylight with any glare on the display. The display is also customizable. Anytime the device is being used for play, you can toggle between the clock and the playing information (such as the radio station currently tuned).
The I-Sonic has dual alarms, both of which can be set for tone (a very pleasant, but attention getting *ding* like a doorbell), radio presets, XM channels, CD/DVD, or even one of the Aux inputs! The display makes it easy to tell at a glance exactly when the alarm will go off and what will be activated when it does.
I confess that I haven't used this system with XM and don&'t intend to. I already have XM in my car, and like the programming less and less every day. In order to use this stereo with XM, a separate tuner and antenna are required. The antenna has to be run either outside or at least to a window with line of sight to an XM satellite. It's not worth the extra expense (and subscription fees) for me to do this right now.
Overall this is a great shelf radio and alarm clock that would suit the audiophile in the bedroom or the average user in the living room when hooked up to the TV.
The sound quality is amazing. I haven't done any dramatic tests for side-by-side comparisons, but I can tell you this stereo sounds better than the Bose Wave Radio my wife has. It produces superior sound and can do so at higher decibels. The Polk I-Sonic uses four speakers, versus the Bose with only 2. Both are fantastic, but the Polk wins over the Bose, which I had always considered the standard in shelf systems.
The HD Radio functionality is very easy to use. Simply select the tuner and find a station you want to listen to. If the station is broadcasting in HD, then the I-Sonic switches over to the digital broadcast seamlessly. Listening to an HD radio station is even clearer than satellite radio. It's almost as good as having a CD and better than satellite. Also many HD stations are multicasting - using the digital transmission to carry another signal, often a different format than the traditional analog transmission, but just as clear as it can be. The web site FAQ says that the I-Sonic can pick up as many multicasts as the station cares to transmit. I don't know if there is a theoretical limit to the number they can transmit - I haven't seen anyone transmitting more than 2 signals. AM stations sound better in HD, too. They don't pack the punch of FM in HD, but the hisses and pops go away, provided you get a strong enough signal, for which Polk provides both an FM external antenna and an AM external antenna. I do recommend connecting both of these if you can connect them and hide them away. They dramatically improve reception.
The CD player is more than a CD player. It plays DVDs (including RCA composite video and S-video output for your television), and discs of MP3s. The text of the MP3s will be displayed much like a normal MP3 player for ease of navigation. I've used this to watch movies on the TV, and this stereo could be the cornerstone of an entertainment system, requiring only a TV to connect to. The sound it produces is ample for the average home use watching movies in the living room, and the auxiliary inputs would allow you to listen to your regular broadcasts over the I-Sonic.
The display is big and bright, and to be honest might be a little too bright for use in the bedroom (where I have mine). It's practically a night-light when it comes out of the box. Fortunately, this can be adjusted - but the medium and low settings seem very dark and hard to see during the daylight with any glare on the display. The display is also customizable. Anytime the device is being used for play, you can toggle between the clock and the playing information (such as the radio station currently tuned).
The I-Sonic has dual alarms, both of which can be set for tone (a very pleasant, but attention getting *ding* like a doorbell), radio presets, XM channels, CD/DVD, or even one of the Aux inputs! The display makes it easy to tell at a glance exactly when the alarm will go off and what will be activated when it does.
I confess that I haven't used this system with XM and don&'t intend to. I already have XM in my car, and like the programming less and less every day. In order to use this stereo with XM, a separate tuner and antenna are required. The antenna has to be run either outside or at least to a window with line of sight to an XM satellite. It's not worth the extra expense (and subscription fees) for me to do this right now.
Overall this is a great shelf radio and alarm clock that would suit the audiophile in the bedroom or the average user in the living room when hooked up to the TV.
