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Yamaha's Flagship YSP-4000 Soundbar...In My House (Verdict: Sounds Great, Hard to Place)
Posted by Brian Lam at 10:07 AM on December 28, 2007
In Yamaha's CEDIA booth, their flagship surround sound bar, was audio magnificence amidst the din. In my house, the sound was big and lively, but I ran into some problems, too.
The Skinny: The YSP uses forty 1-inch drivers individually powered and controlled to steer sound beams. This is based off the same tech that subs use to steer radar.There are two midbass speakers, too. Secondly, this unit has 2 HDMI inputs and one output, as well as the usual connections. It also upscales standard def to HD, and new to this model are concert hall modes developed from acoustics from real performance venues all over the world. There's an XM and iPod dock port, too. Calibration is done via an included microphone in less than 5 minutes. Sound is big and clear and I almost can forgo the sub. Voices were convincingly strong and even, and only above the din of the Tom Cats in the Top Gun HD-DVD pumped full volume did the speaker crackle.
The Problems: The soundbar can be table or wall mounted, but as with previous generations, if you table mount, you block part of most TVs (see shot in galleries). Speaker won't fit in most cabinets (too long) and doesn't correctly throw surround when placed on the ground (center channel too low to throw believable voices in movies). Here's another placement catch: I put my TVs on a wide wall. Most people put the TV where they have a lot of width, yes? Well the right and left channels grow increasingly weak as the room gets wider: The manual asks for a room no more than 23 feet wide. I have a room like this, so the discreetness of the channels was greatly diminished. Interestingly enough: when I stood to one side, those beams became much more intense.
The Verdict: Loud and clear and highly directional under the right conditions. The best soundbar I've ever tested. Great for a room within the recommended dimensions of 23 feet on each side, but still difficult to place under a TV unless you are wall mounting. But expensive at $1799, too. I'd get one simply because I hate wires just that much.
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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Brian Lam
Posted 7:34 PM 27/12/07
@sc132: Exactly. It's a pain in the ass. They work on making a low end center channel sized box, they're going to sell a lot more.
Brian Lam
Brian Lam
Posted 7:21 PM 27/12/07
@slingblade: Dude, you are so right on the money. I hate my living arrangement. And SF rent is spiking.
Brian Lam
sc132
Posted 7:05 PM 27/12/07
Glad to see this update to the ysp series. I have a ysp-1100 that is hooked up to a 12in polk sub. The setup provides good sound. It's in a room in my house which is perfectly square and is 25'X 25'. The biggest issue is speaker placement and making sure no objects block the sound beams. The speaker is hooked up to a 50" pioneer plasma and had to build a custom shelf that goes on top of the tv cabinet. Had to do this to elevate the tv above the speaker for unimpeded viewing.
sc132
slingblade
Posted 7:00 PM 27/12/07
Is that a picture of a living room behind the HDTV? Man, times are that bad eh Brian? JK/JK.
But honestly. I personally would never be able to afford this. It's a luxury I think is too much. An HDTV? That is reasonable...and I hope to be getting one by at least 2012.
slingblade
fusiongt
Posted 6:50 PM 27/12/07
I wonder if you get a nice media cabinet that hides the center channel in one of the drawers if that would work... that way it won't be on top of the cabinet blocking part of the TV. BDI makes some nice cabinets and Magnolia sells them. I got one this Christmas and it's definitely the nicest piece of furniture I own.
fusiongt
fusiongt
Posted 6:47 PM 27/12/07
Good review, I've seen this product in a few magazines and websites and just rolled my eyes at another "virtual surround sound" speaker, but I'm glad to hear it really works. I personally love the art of hiding wires so I really don't mind having actual 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound. I think the trick is all in preparing a room... preferably an empty room so you can rip up carpet and whatnot to get those pesky rear speakers.
fusiongt
Klay
Posted 6:26 PM 27/12/07
All fair comments. We sell these probably 5:1 over conventional LCRS+Sub systems as the Yamaha YSP series gives the client ease of use and (by using 2 subs) kicks quite a punch. You are correct--it is not for everyone but in most retrofits and new after-the-fact installs YSP kicks the conventional systems rear. One very important point: by the time you add a similar standalone receiver, in-walls or some "sound-bar" accessory, a powered sub and all the time for a *clean* install, the YSP series is either a financial push or a better bargain. With the addition of an internal tuner and other nice features, the only needed extras are a BluRay player and a Harmony Remote!
Klay
npa189
Posted 9:03 PM 27/12/07
do these really work? i dont trust anything with out 5.1 speakes
npa189
EnderVR46
Posted 8:16 PM 27/12/07
I got one of these when Dell had them for a really good price when they first came out. I wasn't sure if it would work, given my living room is fairly open to the left and back. My TV if wall mounted, but I sat it on a stand below the screen for testing.
After calibrating with the included mic, then tweaking it a lot, I just couldn't get it to work on the left side. To the right, it was like having a speaker built into the wall, unreal. But there just wasn't enough wall to the left and back to pick up the beams properly.
I tried everything to make it work, it was the perfect solution, but my walls just weren't in the right places. I sent it back and got another receiver instead and will have to live with normal speakers.
While I still had it, I moved it into a bedroom with 4 normal walls, and it was amazing. Sitting it the "sweet zone" was like being immersed in the sound. It almost made me move everything into the guest bedroom and watch movies there. I was really dissapointed it didn't work for me.
EnderVR46
hagrun
Posted 10:08 PM 27/12/07
@npa189: This thing isgreat for folks that don't have a lot of space to spread your speakers out all over the place, however it can't provide the wide area of sound that a traditional system can deliver. Surround sound is best when your speakers can be separated... so you can tell the difference between sounds that travel from side to side. Also systems like these only provide really good surround sound for one or two seats as the speakers are placed so close together.
hagrun
krueger246
Posted 10:03 PM 27/12/07
@npa189: eh im inclined to say that they do work yet dont deliver the punch you would like... the sound is a bit flat if you dont have walls less than 12 feet away.
klipsch also makes a virtual sound system that does the same but has a farther reach on it.
really get the best you can afford.
krueger246