Sonos Arc vs Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016)

The Sonos Arc is one of the very best Soundbars that one can get for around $820. The Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016) (MAGMINI), however, while a very good choice at its $290 price point, falls just short of being remarkable.

The Sonos Arc impressed reviewers from numerous sources that do high-quality in-depth testing, such as Wirecutter (NYTimes), SoundGuys, CNET, Tom's Guide, PCmag, TechGearLab, and Rtings. It performed amazingly well in their roundups - it was dubbed "Runner Up" by Wirecutter (NYTimes), "Best soundbar" by SoundGuys, and "Best all-in-one soundbar under $1,000" by CNET. That, by itself, suggests that it's an excellent product.

Returning to the Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016) (MAGMINI), it managed to impress reviewers from two sources that are considered to be some of the most highly trusted on the internet, thanks to their in-depth hands-on testing - CNET and Tom's Guide. It performed great in their respective Soundbar roundups - it was named "Best small soundbar" by CNET and "The best soundbar for smaller spaces" by Tom's Guide. That's quite an endorsement, especially coming from such high-quality sources.

To get a better idea of how they fare when compared directly to each other, we analyzed review scores of sources that tested both. What Hi-Fi? and TrustedReviews, for example, preferred the Sonos Arc, while CNET and Digitaltrends rated both of them the same.

We also took a look at which sources had the best things to say about them. We learned that the Sonos Arc got reviewed the highest by TechGearLab - it gave it a rating of 10, while the Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016) (MAGMINI) most impressed reviewers at HomeTheaterReview.com, which gave it a score of 9.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Soundbars on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Soundbars being 7.6 out of 10, whereas the Sonos Arc and Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016) (MAGMINI) managed averages of 8.6 and 7.9 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Sonos Arc vs. Polk Audio Magnifi Mini Soundbar (2016) (MAGMINI) comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.