Customer Reviews

Yamaha YAS-71BL Front Surround System (Black)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been searching for a simple budget out of the box home audio solution that had great sound, ease of use and set up, all the connections I needed and lastly esthetically pleasing and not an eyesore. I looked at all the recommended budget 5.1 and 7.1 system (Onkyo is the best deal for full 5.1 systems) and was frustrated by the price and the over engineered complexity of them all. Real surround sound would be cool but ultimately I just wanted a simple solution with strong, rich sound and any simulated surround would be nice too. I have a Samsung 630 and love the TV but the sound sucks. This YAS-71 sound bar and sub-woofer really have enhanced my home theater experience tremendously. I want to watch all the movies I've already seen in HD again now just to hear them in fuller sound. My wife even likes it, I don't think she's nearly as intimidated by it as much as 5.1 component systems would.

This unit has 4 audio inputs plus a connector for an ipod dock; 3 of the inputs are digital audio inputs (2 optical, 1 coaxial). 1 RCA audio input. I highly recommend using the digital audio inputs to get the best and clearest simulated surround sound. I have a PS3 (my Blu-Ray player), a Toshiba DVD player and my DVR hooked up to the digital inputs and the Yamaha ipod dock hooked up. The ipod dock works well and you can control the ipod to some extent with the remote, though the screen on the front of the bar gives you very minimal information and control for your ipod. There are times I'd rather just select my ipod manually on the ipod itself. My 3G iphone worked with it as well as a 30 gig ipod. They all sounded great.

I have a very boxy, enclosed small to medium sized living room (12' x 18') in an older home and it's perfect for that environment. At volume level 50 (halfway) it really fills the room up with rich sound, at the higher levels it gets surprisingly loud without distortion and blowout. Though If you have a very open or large contemporary living room I wouldn't recommend this system; I'd go with more powerful true surround system where you could space the speakers out to fit the room. This YAS-71 really works best in a room with defined walls to work off of. I wouldn't expect any true surround sound from the YAS-71 but there are times while watching 5.1 DVDs and Blu-rays I notice that some sounds really feel immersive and you can feel the simulated surround effect. Prices have dropped on these recently, they used to retail for $500-$600 and for around $300 this is an exceptional deal.

Positives:
* Easy to set up, there aren't a bunch of wires to run around your room.
* User friendly. Wife friendly.
* 4 audio inputs (3 digital) plus yamaha ipod connector
* Clear, surprisingly powerful, robust simulated 5.1 sound for such a contained unit.
* Great value for the money if you can find it at or under $300
* Looks nice in front of most HDTVs. It virtually matched my piano finished black Samsung.
* Great for enclosed rooms.


Negatives:
* No onscreen information and controls on your TV screen, info is only on the soundbar screen. This does not have any video passthrough. (this hasn't been a problem for me though).
* It might not have have all the audio connections you need. Check your setup.
* All the inputs are on the sub woofer, so keep that in mind, you might need longer cables.
* Remote controlling ipod is very minimal.
* ipod dock sold separately ($50-100)
* Not so good for open areas.

Conclusion:
Powerful, clear sound and a good number of inputs for most needs. A simple solution for better home audio. I couldn't be happier with it.

For living in a small condo and not wanting to run wires everywhere this system did the trick. The sound produced out of this is far better then what my TV would ever produce.

The simulated surround sound is just that, simulated. If you have previously had any experience with true surround sound, then you will immediately be able to tell the difference.

The sub woofer is actually the receiver where you plug in all of your items, then two wires run from that to the long front speaker so you will have to keep that in mind when you are trying to layout things as far as wire length goes.

The sound coming from the sub woofer at regular levels is just a light rumble, nothing that is going to irritate the neighbors. You can adjust the output a little up and down to push more sound out of it which will bring up the rumble a little bit, but then again, nothing that would bother the neighbors during the day.

I would definitely recommend this unit to someone who would like a little more sound in a small space without going nuts with wires running all around the room.

The remote is small, but has everything that you need on it to make adjustments from the couch.

I have a Comcast DVR (hooked up optical), a DVD player (hooked up digital coax), and a Wii (hooked up standard RCA). There is one more Optical input that is open.

This unit will become my bedroom speaker once I get a house and will get a true 5.1 or 7.1 for the living room.

This is my second Yamaha Speaker system and I have been very happy with the brand and will probably go with them next round.

I really like all the adjustments that I can make with the subwoofer, surround, and center volumes and the system has really good bass. However, I'm having trouble getting a real crisp sound out of it (mostly voices) and like everyone else said, it's definitely not true surround, especially in my large open living room with vaulted ceilings. It seems to work best in combination with the sound from the t.v. but unfortunately I can't get my DirectTV remote to sync with the system so now I have to use 2 remotes, one for the tv and the one for the system. The sound overall is definitely better than the t.v. alone but I can't say that I'm blown away by this thing. I guess it's pretty good for the price but I was hoping for better. It could be my room too, I've got hardwoods, high ceilings and a big open floor plan so there is a lot of sound bouncing around. It might be better suited for a smaller carpeted room.

I am very satisfied with this product. The "virtual" surround sound is nice and the setup is real easy. Don't expect rear speakers 360 degree sound but a 180 degree. This is fine with me and for the average user. I have a 40in Samsung HDTV and this easily sounds much better than the TV speakers. I tested the Sony and Boston speakers at BB but was not satisfied with the volume. Sony was particularly very weak compared to other more expensive ones. Overall, no regret so far.

First of all, don't expect true surround sound with this unit. What you WILL get however is a very nice SIMULATED surround effect, especially with hi-definition Blu-Ray movies. The beauty and strength of the Yamaha YAS-71BL however is the following: The POWER, the PUNCH, and the BASS. Similar and cheaper units just do not have the power, volume or punch that this device has. It really is incredible. :-) I tested several devices thoroughly (less expensive AND more expensive) before spending $500 on the YAS-71BL and I am not disappointed! Some units I tested only allowed you to turn the volume up to level 50 -- the YAS-71BL however goes all the way up to 100!

I would thoroughly recommend the YAS-71BL for anyone who (a) has a small room (b) does NOT want multiple speakers or multiple cables around the room and (c) who wants powerful sound. This is THE solution for better sounding and more powerful audio for someone who likes a clean and small solution.

There are several audio modes (the Movie setting is the best -- it really has the room throbbing during action sequences, just like at the movie theatre), and there are buttons/options to control individual settings such as the sub-woofer, center-speaker and surround-sound effect. There's also an "enhanced surround sound" mode which attempts to spread the audio at a wider angle. Another very nice bonus with this soundbar is that it has a built-in FM tuner.

I am predominantly playing Blu-Ray movies through this soundbar and films like Transformers, The Incredibles and Wall-E sound SUPERB. I also stream my iTunes audio through the soundbar via my Playstation 3 and my audio has never sounded better. I love it! :-) But remember, do not buy this if you think this is a TRUE surround sound solution because it's not.

Set-up is a breeze, and the unit looks very cool with the piano-black finish. I really like the unit display, it reminds me of Philips audio displays, it's clean and simple and you have options to dim the display if you need. The remote control is wonderful because it is small and is very intuitive to use. Be sure to double-check the sub-woofer measurements before you purchase this soundbar as it is quite tall.

Although this soundbar is advertised as "surround sound", you will only get close to surround sound with Hi-Def movies. And even then, it's never going to be the same as a 5.1 setup with multiple speakers around the room. But this is a one speaker solution let's not forget, so if you look beyond the obvious surround sound flaw, you will appreciate that everything else about this soundbar is first class. Very-much recommended. :-)

I've had the Yamaha YAS-71 for about two weeks now.

First, some background on me:
I'm a music composer/audio engineer as a side job, so I'd like to think that I have a very critical pair of ears. I can hear EQ adjustments in .1dB increments, but take that as you will. This is also my first soundbar, and I have no other soundbar experiences to compare it with. However, I am not new to the world of audio, and I run a high-end monitoring setup with Lavry converters in my music studio.

I was looking for a budget solution to upgrade my existing bedroom sound experience, as my LCD TV speakers just weren't cutting it when watching Blu-rays on my PS3. A 5.1 setup was out of the question, along wit a 2.1 setup - I just did not have the space for separate speakers. A soundbar came to mind, and is something I wish I had considered sooner rather than later.

After much research, I narrowed my interest to three: the Sony CT-100, the Yamaha YAS-71, and the Denon FS-3. These are all models you can find below $400. There are a lot of higher end models out there than what I set my sights on, but I felt the price of these higher end models ($700-$1600) just didn't justify its functionality, especially in a smaller type room like mine (16ft x 14ft). The Sony generally had favorable reviews but one thing that kept coming up time and again was that it did not get loud enough, and that the center speaker generally made it more difficult than necessary to hear dialogue. The Denon would have been my top choice, but upon looking at the measurements, it would have blocked my IR receiver if placed in front of my TV. I also discovered that the channel levels on the Denon cannot be adjusted. I ended up getting the Yamaha YAS-71...

...and I'm glad I did.

I was a bit skeptical at first because the YAS-70 model garnered some unfavorable reviews over at AVS due to it's sound quality not being up to par against other models, and its less than stellar surround effect. However, name aside, the YAS-71 seemed to have a different design in its drivers, using four 3" drivers instead of the YAS-70's six 2" drivers. I am also quite fond of Yamaha's DSP effects on their receiver line, so that also influenced my decision.

After hooking it all up to my PS3/Cable box via optical cable, it was time to taste this baby out!

Notable Features-

Four DSP Modes: Movie, Music, Sports, Game
Movie: Wide horizontal projection, and a medium forward projection. Sound had a touch of reverb to it, and audio had greater low end.

Music: Narrow forward projection and medium horizontal projection. No reverb.

Sports: Stadium like effect. Heavy reverb.

Game: Like Music, except a very large forward projection, with a dip in the lower frequencies.

Dimmer: You can reduce the brightness on the front of the display up to four levels, or have it off completely. When making adjustments when it is off completely, you can see the adjustments you are making but after a few seconds of idle, the display then shuts off. Very nice.

Audio Delay: Essential function for syncing the soundbar's audio to your TV, as now audio and video are two separate sources. You can delay audio in steps of 10ms from 0 - 200ms (I don't remember the max number but it was somewhere around there). Without this function, I would have returned the unit.

Enhancer: Adds harmonic noise to enhance high frequency perception. Works very well for what it is, but in most cases, I left this off.

Sound Quality:
First impressions were very underwhelming. The sound coming out was more muddy than what I am used to. The subwoofer sounded bad no matter what level it was adjusted to. However, it still sounded better than my TV speakers, and that was the idea, right? After about an hour or so, I started to notice some subtle improvements in the audio quality, due to warmup time.

As I was calibrating the audio, I noticed the surround did add a "chorus" type effect to the overall sound, mainly due to the rear speakers being simulated by the front. Once I turned this down, the unit sounded significantly better. I found that Game mode sounded the best out of the four, by a large margin, mainly because I could hear blooming in the other DSP modes, and the bass sounded the most natural in Game mode. After tweaking the center and woofer channels, I became very happy with the unit. Contrary to other opinions, I thought the surround worked well, and there was a perception of hearing sounds behind you as if the audio were expanding from the sides. Let's be real though, room type and placement will have a large role in how well this will work, and don't expect to hear sounds behind you from just a front speaker.

After a week or so, my thoughts on the system remained the same. Very happy with the unit. I noticed that the rubber feet on the unit were pretty...well, flat. I purchased some isolation pads from Radio Shack ($2.50) and applied them.

Result? BIG difference. Sound was a lot more crisp and frequency energies were properly transfered (to the air, and not my TV stand). I was able to knock the surround channel up a notch without hearing that chorus effect. All of the DSP modes sound great, and now I am liking the Movie setting the best, which is strange because prior to applying the pads, I liked Movie mode the least...

I also must comment on the volume of this thing. It does loud, and it does loud well. I've cranked this thing to around 80% (at which any louder would begin to hurt), and showed no signs of any tinnyness.

Lovin' it!


Pros:
Great sound
Easy one touch mode selection
Easy channel adjustment
Some nice features (enhancer, dimmer)
Audio Delay
Loud
Great price

Cons:
Finicky with placement and adjustments
No HDMI
No settings lock (the settings save, but there is no lock to prevent them from being changed)

Other thoughts: If you plan on using a power conditioner, make sure it is TRANSPARENT, otherwise you will be sacrificing forward projection and some filtered frequencies. A power strip with surge suppression is all you need.

OK, I'd probably be the first person to spring for the most complex home theater system out there (at least within my budget). That being said, my wife hates speakers and wires all over the living room. So, since I felt the speakers on my TV were only adequate and I wanted a little more... I felt this would be a suitable compromise. It turns out, I was right. I went from 5 speakers and a sub to 1 speaker and a sub. The system is small enough to sit right in front of my TV on the entertainment center (looks easy to mount on a wall as well) so it is easy to access (something my previous system was not). My wife can see the button to turn it on and off and seems much more comfortable with it than she was with the old system. Life is good!
As for performance, it's not going to rattle pictures off your wall... but it does do a good job of replacing the TV speakers and filling my living room with sound. I find it particularly good when I am watching DVDs. It's easy to use, the remote is small and functional and there are several different settings to maximize the versatility of the system for your space.

I bought the Yamaha YAS-71 about 6 months ago from Amazon after doing a lot of research. I went to local stores and checked out the competition from Sony, Polk, and others. I actually bought the Yamaha based on user feedback and the fact that almost all other bars sounded too weak to fill a room with sound. I never heard it in person until it arrived at my door.

The good:

I'm not an audiophile, so I won't go into great detail about exactly how accurate or perfect the sound is. I can only say that this sound bar can get to be very loud if you want it to. You almost have to cover your ears when you turn it up to 100%. I played with the Sony CT-100 and Sony CT-500 (might have missed a letter) and both of those sounded very weak compared to the Yamaha. The Polk bar I played with is okay, but expensive. My living room is 3-sided, and about 15 x 23. Once I started using the sound bar for more than a week, the results were night and day between my standard Samsung LN46A650 built-in speakers. The design of the sound bar is nice and simple. It has a glossy finish which sort of matches my TV. Also, the remote interacts with the sound bar and not the sub woofer unit. Some people like to try and hide the sub woofer, which you can't do with the Sony CT-100.

The bad:

If you want this sound bar thinking that it is going to create a "virtual surround" experience, then you'll be disappointed. I knew ahead of time that it wasn't going to be that amazing as far as virtual surround goes. Yamaha has fancier products that cost 2x-4x, which bounce sound off walls to create a more accurate virtual surround sound. The main sound bar came with a few mounting accessories, but not the screws that you'd need to hold it up against the wall. It should have been cheap enough for Yamaha to include.

Summary:

A sound bar that is able to produce far better sound than your TV and remain low-key in your home. It is easy to connect to and ultimately met my requirements: something affordable, simple, and able to really fill the room with theater-like volume.

Bought this system as a work around. I didn't want to have to deal with wires and wasn't willing to wait for wireless systems to get better and more affordable. This is a great compromise. Sounds fantastic and looks sharp. I was expecting it to be HDMI enabled but it is not. You will have to buy an optical audio cable for optimum performance. I do find there is a lag in audio (not the units fault?) from Tivo, BD & VCR when routed through my digital TV. This is rectified by muting the TV - problem solved. The TV audio has no noticeable delay.

As far as surround sound goes. I find this effect works best when your head is above the back of the chair and you can hear the entire room. It is an interesting effect but as with all sound bar type units not as convincing as true surround sound.

The bass is great. Lovely warm lows. Movies I've seen several times have a whole new dimension to them now.

To sum it all up. This system is cheap, sounds great, looks great... I will be adding the Yamaha iPod dock today also so I can listen to Pandora through it. I even listen to radio again now and it sounds great through this system.

I honestly looked at the following: Bose Cinemate, both Sony Soundbars, Polk's HTIB, Boston TeeVee, and the Denon while it was on sale. Also the Vizio. This system is fantastic. If you have been searching for a soundbar you can end your search now.