What’s the best Yamaha soundbar of 2023 reviews
If you’re looking to improve your TV’s sound or add speakers to a home cinema projector, you’ll want to consider the Yamaha soundbar range. The brand is well-known for producing superb AV equipment, including AV receivers, speakers, and soundbars. All of which are affordable.
This article aims to be the ultimate guide to the best Yamaha soundbars, both past and present. Instead of spending hours searching the internet for answers, you can read this guide. So you might want to bookmark this page.
Current product range
The Yamaha soundbar range has something for every budget and requirement. Their current models include:
Yamaha SR-C30A soundbar
Yamaha SR-C20A soundbar
Yamaha SR-B20A soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 40 SW soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast YSP-5600 soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 400 soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 40 SW soundbar
Yamaha MusicCast BAR 40 soundbar
Yamaha YAS-109 soundbar – 9/10
Yamaha YAS-209 soundbar
What are the best Yamaha soundbars?
After gathering user feedback from multiple sources, the best Yamaha soundbars are the SR-C20A and YAS-209.
How do they compare to other leading brands?
Yamaha soundbars superb devices that offer several advantages over other leading brands.
While Bose offers a similar sound quality and features to the Yamaha range, they are generally more expensive.
Sony soundbars offer some unique features, such as support for vertical surround sound, which can create a more immersive sound experience. However, they aren’t highly regarded as Yamaha soundbars by users.
The Sonos Arc soundbar is more expensive than most Yamaha soundbars. However, it offers several unique features, such as support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound, built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
What we love about Yamaha soundbars
There are many things to love about Yamaha soundbars, including their sound, affordable pricing, and connectivity.
Yamaha soundbars offer excellent sound quality, with a wide soundstage and clear, crisp dialogue. Plus, you can select from multiple sound modes to optimise the sound for different types of content, such as movies, music, and games.
Many of the Yamaha soundbars support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound, which can create a more immersive sound experience. Several units have built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, on top of traditional input options such as HDMI and optical inputs.
Buying a soundbar shouldn’t cost the earth, Yamaha offers an affordable range of units that are ideal for most users.
How much does they cost?
The current range of units are priced between £150 and £600. They represent great value for money, especially when you consider the features each device offers and comparable units.
Anything to be aware of?
There is some negative point to consider when talking about Yamaha soundbars. The most common complaints include:
Many users report that their units lack a punchy low-end, making them sound thin and lacking in depth. A lot of them have only a single HDMI input limiting your connectivity options, and most don’t have a multi-room music feature, despite their Yamaha MusicCast system.
While Yamaha has included several controls on their soundbars, many lack a display, making it harder to operate them as you’re guessing what settings are being used. Another issue that makes them hard to use is the tiny LEDs, as you have to get up close to see them.
Where can you find support?
Yamaha has an extensive support section on their website. You can find manuals, register a product, or request a repair. And there’s plenty of information available. If you need too, you can contact Yamaha directly by email, phone, and social media.
A little brand history
Founded in 1887 in Japan, Yamaha started life as a manufacturer of pianos and reed organs. In the 1950s, they began producing home electronics.
Yamaha’s first electronic product was a compact, lightweight amplifier for musical instruments. Within a few years, they expanded into producing audio equipment, including receivers, speakers, and CD players. These trends continued during the 60s and 70s.
In 1983, they launched the world’s first commercially available CD player with a digital-to-analogue converter (DAC), which helped to establish Yamaha as a leading brand.
During the 1990s, Yamaha expanded further into home cinema systems. They developed proprietary technologies such as the Cinema DSP (Digital Sound Processor) for surround sound processing. They also introduced their first home AV receiver with Dolby Digital and DTS decoding.
Today, Yamaha continues to produce high-quality home electronics, including home theatre systems, soundbars, receivers, and speakers, with a focus on innovation, reliability, and exceptional sound quality.
Discontinued Yamaha soundbars
Yamaha has only discontinued a few of their soundbar models. The list includes:
YAS-101, YSP-2500, YAS-203, ESB-1080, YAS-107, SR-C20A, ATS-2090, YSP-5600, YSP-2700, SR-C30A, SR-B20A, and YSP-800.