Customer Reviews

Yamaha YSP-3050BL Digital Sound Projector

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Yamaha YSP-3050 is my first soundbar purchase, and I settled on it after reading lots of reviews (both professional and peer) which praised its sound quality. I was interested in a soundbar because I was averse to setting up a true 5.1 or 7.1 speaker system for various reasons, and Yamaha was consistently rated at the top of the field. I took advantage of Amazon's offer of a free Yamaha YST-FSW050BL Advanced YST II Down-Firing Active Subwoofer with purchase.

SOUND: This is the most important factor, in my book. I'm happy to say the reviews I read were accurate, and the sound quality of the device does not disappoint. I was pleasantly surprised at how good of a job the soundbar does at simulating 5.1 sound. My room does not match either of the "ideal" layouts described, and I utilized the automatic calibration function, and the sound is excellent in 5 beam mode and stereo + 3 beam mode. My friend owns a Sony HTC Soundbar, and he commented that the Yamaha seemed to have slightly superior sound. Either way, the audio for my Blu-Rays and video games have never sounded better. I haven't spent as much time testing out "built-in" subwoofers because I have an external one, but from what I can tell the addition of the external subwoofer is a substantial benefit for bass fans. I'm glad I got it.


SETUP: Setup was relatively simple, especially for HDMI devices. It should be fairly obvious what connectors go where. However, there are a few potential snags for the unwary. One annoyance was the fact that all the inputs/outputs (except HDMI) on the rear panel are downward facing, so reconfiguring them requires turning the entire soundbar on its side. Another confusing feature was the ability to reassign audio inputs to video inputs. As an example, you can select AUX1 optical as the audio input to associate with your component video input, or you can select an RCA analog input to associate with the same video input. This is an extra level of configuration that is helpful (and by design saves space on the rear panel), but can be confusing to learn. Unfortunately the manual doesn't do an amazing job of explaining this feature either. Generally speaking, the manual is great at covering the basics, but lacking on the advanced features (which I would assume are the ones users would be more likely to refer to the manual for).

For those who are having trouble figuring this out, the confusion arises because the remote control selections are labeled by AUDIO input, but the input assignment menu is grouped by VIDEO input. So although it looks like you are assigning AUX1 audio to Component Video, for example, in reality you are assigning Component Video to AUX1 audio. This is because the mode you will select when operating the soundbar is AUX1, and the soundbar will then know to pass through Component Video to the television set. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense as written, but it's somewhat non-intuitive as I explained.

So far, my biggest gripe is actually with a technical limitation. The YSP-3050BL only supports up to 1080i input through component, and not full 1080p as it should. (Though some will mistakenly claim otherwise, component video does indeed support full 1080p, and I've been using 1080p over component on my Xbox 360 for a long time now.) This limitation was not made obvious anywhere, and took an e-mail to Yamaha support to determine why my component video was not being passed through. Thus, I have been faced with the choice of lowering the quality of my video to 1080i or sending the video signal directly to the TV and not taking advantage of the receiver-function of the soundbar. To Yamaha's credit, their support was knowledgeable and quick to respond.

PRICE: Let's face it, $1000 is a little steep, especially when major competitors (e.g., Sony HTCs) are in the $300-range. That being said, all accounts point to the Yamaha as offering superior audio. It's probably not $700 worth, and you certainly can find a full 5.1 system for less than $1000. But there are many reasons a full 5.1 or 7.1 setup are not practical, and if you have the extra cash this is guaranteed to deliver a good audio experience.

Great product! Very easy to set up even in the manual mode. Especially easy using HDMI cables. I have replaced my eight year old surround sound system and the Sound Projector is actually better than hard wired speakers. I have an unusual shaped room and even though it does not really "fit" the room dimensions for the projector, the result is great.

The Yamaha YSP-3050BL Digital Sound Projector is a compact, easy to use, and easy to setup(using HDMI) Home Theater solution that provides very good sound. Met my expectations and then some. So far (about 30 days use) I think it is one of the best possible solutions for a small home theater system in a limited well defined space. It works ok in the wide open space where I have it currently installed but in a smaller space with walls you will get a better surround experience. The only complaint I have is that I have not been able to program the remote with some of my connected equipment. Going to check out Yamaha customer support.

I was debating 4 or 5 stars on the rating its probably 4.5. The setup/manual is a little daunting . Took about 2-3 hours to decipher the remote buttons, the different hookup options and set my specific system up. Came nicely packaged like you would expect for premium Yamaha audio items. The calibration process is neat to watch.

Only problems so far are limited HDMI inputs. A DVD and a cable box are bare minimum HDMI connections and thats all the YSP3050 supports. If you have other HDMI inputs you are out of luck. I decided to hook the optical PCM TV outputs into the YSP3050 instead of putting the YSP3050 as central to my system via HDMI switching and having to rewire all the HDMI connections. Although with the PCM optical hookup the readout on the box indicates 2 channels in not sure if/why I can't get 5.1 out of the PCM optical port.

Second issue is the vague or non-existant mounting instructions. It would be nice if there were mount plates provided or built in mounting holes. For me an ideal location is above the TV and there is no clear way to do that with no apparent sturdy YSP3050 mounting holes for the 25 lb box.

My Harmony remote was able to be programmed to handle all the needed functions so the TV/cable/dvd/appleTV/game console all work with the YSP3050 albeit not thru HDMI. Although Harmony setup lists the device as a audio amplifier not a sound bar.

I've re-done the auto setup cal a few times as I move things around, just takes a minute or so. It does seem to setup the level of the external sub woofer also so you don't need to play with your sub outputs by ear. You can always go back to the sub after the cal and adjust the signal up or down to your tastes but when you do the next cal the YSP will flatten out the changes again.

One of the other posts said there was no remote control of the sub, however there is a "night time" mode which cuts the sub outputs down. Its in the manual.

Last little nit was the built in FM tuner. The sensitivity with the provided antenna plugged into the RF coax connector is pretty low. Almost all the local FM channels sounded slightly noisy. I'd probably basically skip that or try a larger external antenna. It was handy for a quick power up check of the unit, I have not used the built-in FM since.

I received a large screen Panasonic HDTV for my birthday, and although I loved the picture, I was not satisfied with the sound coming from the built-in speakers. The TV is in our bedroom, and therefore, I did not want to go with a multi-speaker setup. I decided to look at soundbars. I probably would have gone with the soundbar made by KEF or Definitive Technology, because they make such excellent speakers in general, but the soundbars made by those 2 companies do not come equipped with built-in amplification. Again, I wanted to minimize the number of additional pieces of equipment which had to be added, so I decided to look into Yamaha's sound projector selection, due to the fact that Yamaha has an excellent reputation, has been making sound projectors for longer than most other manufacturers, and does include amplification in the single unit. Yamaha has a wide selection of sound projectors, ranging in price from around $600 to over $2000. I felt that I wanted to spend no more than $1000, which led me to the YSP-3050. At the time, Amazon was offering it as a "bundle" with a free Yamaha subwoofer, and that convinced me to take the plunge. Although the sound from the YSP-3050 is significantly better than the sound from the TV speakers, I do not think it is as good as would be expected from separate speakers and a receiver. Of course, that is also not what Yamaha promised. All things considered, for someone who does not want separates, I would strongly recommend this system. I have 2 cautionary things to mention: First, Yamaha states that this system is simple to set up. However, the manual is close to 100 pages long! It is true that the initial setup is relatively simple, but perfecting the system for your room, and understanding the variations that can be implemented, is not so simple. Second (and I think this is a big one): some of the higher priced Yamaha sound projectors come with a jack that allows you to turn the subwoofer on and off with the remote control from the sound projector. The YSP-3050 does not include that jack, so the subwoofer has to be turned on and off manually. If you plan on getting a Yamaha subwoofer, you might want to consider one of higher priced Yamaha sound projectors which come with this jack.

Yamaha YSP-3050 DSP We've had this unit for a few months now and completly satisfied. My wife did'nt like the looks of the Bose speakers we had before and after two years of looking at various systems, we settled for this with no regrets. Sort of a gamble because most stores do not have them, not a Best Buy, Costco or Wal-Mart item. Setup was easy, just follow the instructions. We already had a subwoofer and sure that will make a difference. Some of the other reviews indicated a weak bass and that could be without a subwoofer. We have an 8" Energy subwoofer. The unit will automatically set up and balance with the sub. Amazing is that the some sounds seems to come from out of our hallway, behind us. Our living room didn't fit the spec because we have high ceilings and adjoining dining area was worried that the system would not work or setup. No problem with this unit. The sound is amazing and really makes movie life like. We also ordered the ipod dock, this unit is made for ipod, Also plays and recharges an iphone. Very sweet playback. We have different playlists and days of music. Cons... the remote is not very universal, so we bought a good Sony remote, one with macros. Hooking up the computer to play movies with the HDMI cabling and selecting the right output is sometimes not so easy, takes some patience. Could use another HDMI port or 2 for games .. but we download utube videos and play back on this unit with the TV is awesome... and for less than 600.00 yuo can't go wrong.

This is a great component if you do not want a full 5.1/3.1 surround system. In our case, I didn't want speakers throughout our family room, so this was a great compromise. My only wish is that there was a straight audio pass-through should you not wish to power-up the Yamaha. Also, more HDMI inputs (it has 2).

Fantastic sound bar! I've owned it for about a year w/an attached sub woofer and it rocks. Great for a small apartment and for one who doesn't want wires everywhere. Someday I will be able to install flush mount speakers and have wiring in the walls but for now this little guy kicks. The only thing I would love to have is the ability for the sound bar to sense what sound type is coming in (ie how many channels) and set itself to 5beam, stereo, 3beam, ect to match whats coming in. When you switch to a sound source that isn't 5.1 you have to grab the sound bar remote (for me it gets lost as I control the volume with another remote) and switch the setting. Auto-sensing this would be a huge improvement!

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT....I WISH THAT I CAN RETURN IT.(TOO LATE BECAUSE OF TROUBLE SHOOTING FOR MORE THAN A MONTH) EVEN WITH THE SUBWOOFER THE SOUND IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE SOUND I HEARD WITH OTHER SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS. THE WIRING IS COMPLICATED. UNLESS YOU HAVE A SPACE TO PUT IT IN YOUR ENTERTAINMENT CENTER I WOULD SUGGEST A DIFFERENT SYSTEM..MY HUSBAND HAD TO BUILD A BLACK BOX UNDER THE FLATSCREEN IN ORDER TO PLACE THE PROJECTOR...I PAID ANOTHER $150 FOR A TECH TO COME OUT AND HOOK IT UP...IT DOES LOOK ODD UNDER THE TV. I CAN'T PUT IT WITH THE CD PLAYER BECAUSE THE SPEAKERS CAN'T BE HINDERED WITH THE GLASS....SO I BOUGHT ANOTHER ENTERTAINMENT CENTER WITH AN OPEN SPACE BUILT IN TO PLACE THE PROJECTOR..UGH!.....