Sound quality: In the Music sound mode Polk Audio's MagniFi Mini delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and dialog reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound. The bass has good impact, but is somewhat prominent and boomy, and the deepest bass is lacking. The midrange is fairly even, but is slightly soft and echoey and somewhat hazy. The treble is thin, slightly prominent, smeared and sizzly, and "S" sounds produce a noticeable shimmering quality. This model does a so-so job of recovering room ambience (the sense of the acoustic space in which the music was recorded), that ambience is a bit obscured by the slightly echoey quality of the midrange, and the overall sound is somewhat congested. The Music and Movie sound modes sound similar while the Sports sound mode is louder, and the center of the "sound image" becomes more prominent. The Voice level controls raise and lowers the volume in the center channel in the vocal frequency range (regardless of whether they are voices or other sounds in the same tonal range like horns). There was no significant difference in sound quality between the HDMI, analog, optical, Bluetooth, and WiFi inputs. The system can provide satisfying volume in a medium sized room.
TV ease of use: Acceptable overall.
Features ease of use: Mediocre overall.
