Yamaha YAS-101 Review

9 Stars

Pretty great, but not surround sound

PCNewsDiary 16th Apr

When I found that I had to fully max out my LED TV's volume whenever the AC came on, I knew it was time to find some better speakers than the tiny built-in ones. I don't like the clutter of surround sound or sub woofers, so I thought I could get some passable sound out of this unit without sacrificing the aesthetic of the room. When I unboxed it, I immediately liked how clean it looked. After connecting it to the PS3, I put on Inception to test it out. I was pretty blown away. For being so small and having built-in sub woofers, I thought the sound was really full. It's not theater-quality, but for the price and size, you can't beat it. It definitely surpassed my expectations.

The clear voice feature is great as well. You can instantly tell the difference as soon as you turn it on. It's perfect for those dramatically quiet movie scenes.

I would deduct half a star if I could for the far-fetched surround sound claims. While it does sound really full and I can hear occasional bits of "surround sound", it certainly is not a replacement for real surround sound. I wasn't expecting much in this department to begin with though.

Definitely very happy with the purchase.

*Note, before you're will buy this Yamaha YAS-101, I suggest you have to read more user reviews or get for best price at: Amzoffer.com/Yamaha-YAS-101BL

Hope this helps.

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8.0

CNET Review

January 25, 2012 | 4:00 AM PST

The Good: Yamaha's first budget sound bar delivers solid sound quality for TV and movies. The Yamaha YAS-101's built-in subwoofer will appeal to minimalists who don't want a separate sub, plus it has an innovative feature that passes through remote signals if the TV's sensor is blocked.

The Bad: If you like tons of bass or really high volume, the YAS-101 isn't for you. It's also light on features, lacking HDMI inputs, analog audio inputs, and any kind of wireless audio streaming.

The Bottom Line: Yamaha's YAS-101 is a great budget sound bar, with an excellent design and a helpful feature for dealing with remote signals, although it's light on connectivity.

Read the full review

9.7

alaTest.com

May 26, 2012 | 12:00 AM PDT

Review Summary: alaTest has collected and analyzed 63 reviews of Yamaha YAS-101 from international magazines and websites.

The Verdict: Experts rate this product 68/100 and users 89/100. Comparing these reviews to 177916 other Speakers reviews gives this product an overall alaScore 97/100 = Excellent.

asia.cnet.com

February 10, 2012 | 12:00 AM PST

Review Summary: This sound bar with an integrated subwoofer is one of the best all-around models you can get for S$599.

The Verdict: The fact that two-channel music sounds no more than passable on the YAS-101 isn't a huge knock, since it's a shortcoming of sound bars in general. When used in its intended environment (small to midsize rooms) and at moderate volume levels, the YAS-101...

6.0

gadgetreview.com

December 19, 2011 | 12:00 AM PST

Review Summary: Since the advent of Plasma and LCD, big screen TVs can fit just about any where you stick it. However, it's an entirely different story when it comes to home theater systems. They generally require more [...]

digitaltrends.com

October 19, 2011 | 12:00 AM PDT

Review Summary: It's been kind of fun to watch the sound bar progress over the last seven years or so. First there were passive sound bars that simply put a couple of speakers into a wide, short enclosure that looked tidy sitting below a flat panel TV. Eventually,...

The Verdict: If Yamaha’s aim was to create a full sounding, self-contained, slim sound bar solution at an accessible price, we’d say they pretty much nailed it on the head with the YAS-101.

5.0

toptenreviews.com

November 30, -0001 | 12:00 AM PST

Review Summary: Does this sleek Yamaha sound bar really mimic 7.1 channels of simulated surround sound? How does such a small sound bar provide such big sound? Check out our sound bar reviews.

The Verdict: Despite providing clear and distinct dialogue, the lack of inputs and weak bass prevent the YAS-101 from ranking higher among its competition.