Customer Reviews

Yamaha YSP-800 82-Watt Digital Sound Projector, Silver

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If space is at a premium in your TV room, this is an ideal
all-in-one system, giving you real *theatre* surround sound.
I decided on the Yamaha YSP 800 over it's larger and more expensive version. The unit has 21 small speakers and 2 larger ones, in a neat and compact enclosure. It also came with a separate Yamaha subwoofer. I have my unit sitting in front of my plasma TV, on a cabinet. I needed to raise the TV in order to access the remote spot; otherwise the YSP was blocking it. Hooking up the various cables was fairly straightforward.
I purchased a quality subwoofer cable and one extra digital cable, but the unit is supplied with both. Setting up how the unit will sound in a particular room was very easy also. A microphone is supplied, which you attach to the unit and place in the area, on a supplied tripod, where you are likely to do most of your listening. The unit sets itself up by bouncing sound off the walls and calibrating distances, volume etc.
I was able to teach my Sony universal remote to operate all but one function of the YSP.
The sound is amazing, especially with *Trubase* activated. There are various modes of sound available, eg, night time cinema, in case people are trying to sleep nearby.
I couldn't be happier with this product: one unit, no other speakers cluttering the room, no cables snaking under or on the floor. You have to listen to it to believe how good it sounds.
John Kelly

I'm an avid audiophile, and have been listening to high-end systems for many years. I'm a tough customer.

I recently bought a 32" LCD HDTV for my bedroom. My wife didn't want me running speakers to all corners of the room, and I wanted something that sounded good enough to watch movies in bed.

Took a chance with the YSP-800 after reading the reviews.

Couple of observations:

The auto-setup is truly remarkable. Comes with the microphone and it just does its stuff.

The unit does not come with the ability to mount to a wall without a special wall bracket that you must buy separately.

It has three digital inputs - two optical Toslink and one coax.

I used it without a Subwoofer and with. No comparison.

Without a subwoofer, don't bother spending the money. With a subwoofer, hold onto your hat.

I'm using a Sunfire Subwoofer and the system sounds spectacular. It sounds great for music, TV and movies.

Highly recommended.

This is a fantastic product if:

1) You can't or don't want to run wires and setup rear speakers in a surround sound configuration.
2) Your room has walls on the sides and back to bounce the rear sound beams off of.
3) Your room meets the minimum dimensions.
4) You don't sit directly against the back wall of your room.
Look at the diagrams on the Yamaha website if you have questions. If your room isn't compatible with this system, you probably should consider something else.

I bought this unit a last week and am very happy with it. The surround effect is quite convincing and having an LFE channel is great. You WILL need to purchase a subwoofer for use with this unit. It is not included. I use the YST-FSW100 though any decent subwoofer should be fine if you already own one.

If you try to get by with just TruBass and no woofer, you'll be disappointed. TruBass is a psycho-accoustic effect that tricks you into thinking you're hearing low notes that are absent or quiet by producing higher frequencies in the harmonic series for the low note in question. It can be a very convincing effect but it is no substitute for the real thing.

I've been itching to build a mini theater in our bedroom since I upgraded our TV to a 32' LCD HDTV about a month ago. I've considered a few "theater in a box" but the wife WILL NOT approve of speaker wires around the bedroom and space is also at a premium. I auditioned the Bose 3-2-1 and Cinemate at a local electronic store but was not too impressed by either. The surround simulation was okay but the limited source inputs was really what turned me off on the Bose. That's when I found the Yamaha YSP-800 at the neighboring demo kiosk. The demo wasn't too impressive since these sound projectors utilize walls to bounce off the sound to create that surround effect. Long story short, I took one home to try it out in our bedroom. I've never owned a Yamaha but I know they have a decent presence in home entertainment. The speaker was well packaged and came complete with everything you need for multiple device set up. If you are an "electronically impaired" consumer, you will love this product! The set up was as easy as it can get. The supplied sound optimizer microphone does all the work for you during Auto Set Up. It automatically configures the "best" possible sound based on your room's acoustics.

Connections and Adjustments:
There are 2 analog, 2 optical and 1 coaxial inputs and 1 system connector. I've used them all including the video and subwoofer outputs. It also has a plethora of DSP and non DSP modes (5 Beam, 3 Beam, St+3 Beam, Stereo, Target, Music, Movie, Sports, Night, etc.) which can be directly accessed through the remote control. The system menu also allows you to perform manual and automatic sound adjustments where you will likely be spending the most time on adjusting the sound to your liking.

The Tests:
After making all my adjustments, I immediately played a favorite CD and was delighted to hear how good it sounds. It creates a wide soundstage and the mid and high tones were crisp and clean.
Okay...let's see how it does with movies. I popped in Star Wars Episode III just because it was the DVD closest to me. Wow...the surround effect was very convincing and the dialogues were crystal clear while accurately distributing the low frequencies to the subwoofer. It was amazing to hear all that sound coming from a single speaker enclosure. I spent a few more minutes jumping scenes on Star Wars before playing my ultimate test material, The Eagles Farewell I Concert DVD set on DTS mode. All of the songs sounded great particularly "You Belong to the City" and "Hotel California". Once I heard those 2 songs, I knew then that my test was over and the speaker was not going back to the store! The YSP-800 successfully simulated the distinct DTS sound separation I expect from a DTS decoder.

The Verdict:
The Yamaha YSP-800 may not perform like a complete 5.1 home theater set up but it sure does a pretty darn good job pretending to be like one. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone:
* Looking to use it in an enclosed symmetrical environment
* Who doesn't like having multiple speakers and the hassle of wiring them

Other Recommendations:
* Yamaha YST FSW100 Subwoofer (see my review)
* Logitech Harmony Universal Remote Control

I purchased this item with some trepidation. I own a nice 7.1 system but just got tired of looking at four black speakers on stands around my living room. Although I wanted the bigger ysp-1100, I thought I would try the less expensive alternative and see if the technology worked.
It will be a long while before I upgrade because the ysp-800 performs so well and does such a good job of recreating the "surround" effect. Is it as good as my 7.1 system? Close enough that you would have to be more than an average listener to notice a difference. I unhooked my speakers last night and put them in storage because this item performs so well.
I was a little concerned at first because I don't have a solid back wall behind my listening position, instead there is a little breakfast nook and then a wall. Based on what I had read, if your room isn't just perfect then the ysp-800 might not work. I was pleased though that the auto setup program ran without a hitch. I guess the wall beyond my breakfast nook was still close enough to bounce sound off of to create the surround effect because it works specatcularly.
Any way I would recommend this product to anyone. It works as advertised and I have been suprised at the volume level it is capable of achieving at 82 total watts. My living room is 13 by 14 and the ysp-800 has had no problem creating big theater sound. I demoed the beach landing in Saving Private Ryan and was impressed.
If the technology continues to upgrade, I might buy the bigger version in a couple of years, but for now the ysp-800 has made me happy.

I set this up for my 65 year old mom and it fits the bill. Her goal was to improve the sound from her plasma TV (TV & DVD's) and for her to be able to listen to her CD's as well. She did not want to mess with fishing wires through the wall and I cannot imagine her dealing with a modern AV receiver.

The YSP-800 is a powered speaker that allows you to ditch the AV receiver - I set it up just by connecting the two optical inputs (it comes with one optical cable).

I must echo the other reviews in saying that a sub woofer is essential. The YSP 800 has quite a few speakers, but most are directional tweeters and the low end is utterly lacking. I added a Yamaha YST-FSW050BL Advanced YST II Down-Firing Active Subwoofer sub woofer and the results were impressive and the overall surround sound effects were greatly improved. Budget a modest sub ($100-$200) 6" top 8" woofer with this purchase and you will not be disappointed. If you are trying to simplify HT for someone I would also get them a Logitech Harmony universal remote.

You can achieve a better HT sound for similar $, but it will require a lot of separates, physical space, spousal consent, cables, wiring, speaker stands mounts and the desire to mess with it.

I am a major stereo and computer lover. I have a Kenwood Sovereign system, blue-ray, and HD DVD. I was skeptical about the Yamaha YSP-800. It knocked my socks off. I had 7 speakers around my living room, this product replaced them all.

It sounds great with DVD, Dolby as well as music. Thi is definitely a must buy and at the price it is a golden buy. My 7 speakers cost me over $2k and this does a better job and sets itself up amazingly well.

Ensure you have a Sub-Woofer it is needed, without one it is a bit tinny.

The Yamaha YSP-800 does everything I wanted it to. I've been dreaming about this type of thing for years and finally someone's invented it! Who wants all those damn speakers and wires everywhere if you don't live in a conventional space?

The sound projector also fixed another major problem which was the television we bought it for, a 32 inch Sony, didn't have loud enough speakers or at least with the digital cable service we subscribe to (directv).

The only confusing part has been switching to theater dts sound for dvd's using the optical cable from the dvd player when everything else is going through the television which does not have an optical in or out. Other than that it has amazing sound that really tickles your ears when your watching movies and television.

The price was finally right as well. Well worth it.

I am out of the old school where I always knew that it took 5 top-quality speakers to get good sound. Now I'm blown away by 21 1-1/2" speakers in a 35" wide bar, hanging on the wall under my HD/TV.

My wife refused to have the room cluttered with wires and big speakers. This unit is so good it will suddenly shock you when the sound erupts during a movie. It's added a big thrill to our High Definition viewing enjoyment.

WAF= wife acceptance factor.
Nice clean installation has aesthetic benefits.

I have this mated to the YST-II subwoofer and it sounds much better than the TV speakers. The soundstage is much wider than the TV speakers. I have my TV/speakers in a corner installation. The frontstereo separation is less than a two speaker (4.5' spread) stereo setup--but the sound from surround channels is distinct and appears to come from a wider space than a stereo system provides.
The tones are much richer than TV speakers.

Has quite a few adjustable settings. Was able to improve performance with manual tweaks to the auto set-up.

BE sure to use a subwoofer.

I suspect it works better in a center wall installation in a 4-sided room.


I have surround sound in my basement and this unit does not provide the same spatial effect.


I was able to purchase the YSP-800 for $349 plus $130 for SW in an after Christmas sale. I don't think it is a good value at retail.