Yamaha YSP-900 Digital Sound Projector (Black) Review
I usually care about my audio equipment to be the best my money can buy, although I do not consider myself to be an "audiophile". I do spend more than 0 for my PC speakers, and I have spent more than ,000 in high-end speakers in the past, but for my new LCD TV, I wanted something that was easy to set-up, yet gave me decent sound to enjoy. I heard about this new sound bar technology from Yamaha, so I gave it a try. I purchased a YSP-800 (the previous generation of YSP-900) to go with my 40" LCD TV. I originally was going to get a 7.1 surround system from Onkyo, but the thought of wires and cables running around the floor just gave me shudders, and even if I reduced the number of speakers down to 5, I'd still have to run wires across the room from the system, and around and behind the couch. I just didn't feel like cluttering the room with wires, and YSP-800 was the perfect answer for that.
For the sound, YSP-800 is amazing. I don't know how it really is doing it, but the rear channel sound actually sounds like coming from behind. And, the weird thing is the left and right channels just seems like coming from the left and right extremes, rather than from the sound bar location. My dog seems to be fooled by the YSP-800's phantom surround, and when the movie makes a big noise in the left direction, my dog and I turn to the left! The channel separation is really that good.
I've listened to two other sound bar systems before I made the purchase, and those are ones from Polk Audio and Philips. Both of them really gives you "virtual surround" but not actual 5.1 channel surround sound. They do a good job of giving you a feel that the sound is "surrounding" you, but not quite the same experience as the ones you get from YSPs.
The only complaint for YSPs, if at all, is the lack of bass. Of course this can be easily remedied by adding a subwoofer, but it would have been nice if a decent woofer was built-in to this unit.
So all in all, if you are even mildly interested in this unit because of the less clutter, but concerned about the sound quality and effectiveness of surround sound, I'd say you absolutely have nothing to worry about. The reason why these sound bars are not cheap is because it does provide great sound without complicated and cluttering wires. So give these YSPs a try, you won't be disappointed.
Yamaha YSP-900 Digital Sound Projector (Black) Feature
- True multi-channel surround sound
- Digital amplifiers built-in
- Thin profile to match 32" TV's
- Intellibeam automated calibration system
- 23 Speakers - 82W total power
Yamaha YSP-900 Digital Sound Projector (Black) Overview
Yamaha YSP-900BL Digital Sound Projector provides a multi surround sound enjoyment from a single compact component. The YSP-900 applies the Digital Sound Projector technology to precisely control the orientation of the sound by focusing it through multiple beams. The center channel sound is heard directly, while sounds from other channels are heard after reflecting off walls. The result is true multi-channel surround sound that sounds just like a multi-speaker system ¿ but without the need for extra speakers! As amazing as it seems, the YSP-3000 can actually deliver multi-channel sound that surrounds listeners the same way that sound from front, center and rear speakers does. DVD movies and other digital sources sound just the way they are supposed to. Dolby Pro Logic II is included, so even 2-channel TV's sound can be heard in true multi-channel surround. Its elegant space-saving design avoids the need of numerous speakers and cables. It can be wall mounted or placed on a shelf or rack. Digital amplifier individually drives 21 sound beam drivers and two woofers to deliver true multi-channel surround sound for an elegant home theater system.
Yamaha YSP-900 Digital Sound Projector (Black) Specifications
The Yamaha YSP-900BL Digital Sound Projector applies the Digital Sound Projector technology to precisely control the orientation of the sound by focusing it through multiple beams to provide multi-surround sound enjoyment from a single compact component. The center channel sound is heard directly while the sounds from other channels are heard after reflecting off walls. The result is true multi-channel surround sound that sounds just like a multi-speaker system but without the need for extra speakers.
The YSP-900BL delivers multi-channel sound that surrounds listeners in the same way that sound from front, center and rear speakers do. DVD movies and other digital sources sound just the way they are supposed to. Dolby Pro Logic II is included so even 2-channel TV's sound can be heard in true multi-channel surround. Its elegant space-saving design avoids the need of numerous speakers and cables. It can be wall mounted or placed on a shelf or rack. The digital amplifier individually drives 21 sound beam drivers at 2W each and two woofers at 20W each for a total of 82W of power to deliver true multi-channel surround sound for this elegant home theater system.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Aug 04, 2010 20:37:34