Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great simple budget system for enclosed rooms, May 3, 2009
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.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent but nothing spectacular., February 27, 2009
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.
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Suond.... not quite surround, November 22, 2008
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.
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