- WRITTEN BY DENOM
Soundbars are aplenty these days & made by almost all in the AV electronics industry. Yamaha likes to call them as a home theater device designed for realistic mimicry of a full-blown, multi-speaker surround sound system. While most sound bars rely solely on digital signal processing for virtual surround effects, Yamaha’s sound projectors employ an array of small drivers the company calls “beams,” which bounce sound off the walls to create a bigger, more immersive audio environment, providing a detailed sound with a massive soundstage in a slim, hassle free design.
Unboxing: The YSP-2500 came well packed in a pretty large carton. The YSP-2500 consists of 2 parts, a sound bar and a sub woofer. Both were well packed separately with sturdy thermocol encasing the 2 units securely. All the accessories were well packed in little cut outs in the main thermocol packing itself. The items part of the YSP-2500 as follows: 1 Unit Sound Bar (YSP-CU2500) 1 Unit Wireless Sub Woofer (NS-WSW120) 1 Remote Control 2 X AAA Batteries Optical Cable (1.5m) IntelliBeam Microphone (6m) Cardboard Microphone Stand Non-Skid Pads(8 Pcs) Owner’s Manual CD-ROM Quick Reference Guide Safety Brochure Screws(M4, 22mm X 2) Mounting Template
Packing Quality: 5 Stars
Appearance: The soundbar of the YSP-2500 is uncommonly slim, thanks to a frame that barely extends beyond the edges of its tiny beam drivers. The feet of the soundbar are height adjustable, or can be entirely removed depending on your placement requirements in relation to the proximity of the TV panel, especially if it’s a wall mounted arrangement. The sound bar is encased in a brushed aluminium exterior, which gives it an understated classy look. The YSP-2500’s 16 drivers, each of which is 1.125-inches in diameter, are individually powered, pulling a meager 2 watts each from the sound bar’s allocated 32 watts. The rest of the system’s claimed 162 watts of power are all directed at the wireless sub, which houses dual 4-inch woofers working in tandem to provide the low stuff. System frequency response is rated at 40Hz-22kHz. The soundbar’s connection options include three HDMI inputs and an ARC HDMI output, dual optical digital inputs, a coaxial digital input, an RCA analog input, and a subwoofer output. At the front is an input for the setup microphone and a virtual surround sound headphone output. Bluetooth with aptX for near CD-quality streaming (and access to Yamaha’s controller app) complete the feature set. Atop the bar is a slim control panel for power, input selection, and volume control. A largish display is present on the front left side of the soundbar. The display is bright and legible, which can be adjusted via the dimming feature. The subwoofer is also slim, yet quite heavy, with a largish port placed in the centre of the front end. The subwoofer is discreet and can be tucked away in a corner either vertically or horizontally. The feet attached to it are quite large & provide a good foot print to the sub woofer. Employing the Intellibeam microphone is necessary to optimize the unit’s sound for your room. To do so, simply set up the makeshift stand and microphone in the room’s centralized listening position, plug in the mic, and follow the onscreen instructions. Once you press return, there’s a 10 second countdown to exit the room, followed by 3 minutes of processing done to ensure optimal sound presentation as per the rooms dimensions & surrounding walls. To Yamaha, walls are a benefit because they can reflect sound. Digital Sound Projection takes advantage of this by figuring out how sounds reflect off your walls. Once it learns how sounds move around your room, it uses that to its advantage by bouncing audio off the walls to create the effect of surround speakers. Your ears don’t realize that the surround audio is coming from the front but bouncing off the walls first. You hear the sounds coming from behind you because they actually are. The Bluetooth feature(with apt-X) allows one to stream music to the YSP-2500 wirelessly via any iphone/pad or android based hand held devices. The Bluetooth standby mode allows the speakers to be turned on/off as and when a device is connected to them. The Yamaha controller app allows one to use their hand held devices to adjust surround and DSP modes or beams effortlessly, which is a useful addition if one wants to control the YSP-2500 entirely without using the dedicated remote. Surprisingly the YSP-2500 has no USB input for a flash drive or hard drive full of music/movies. With no WiFi or Ethernet built-in, it means the only way to stream music to the YSP-2500 is with Bluetooth.
Specifications: (From Yamaha Website) General Output Channel 7.1-channel Output Power 162 W total power: 2 W x 16 beam drivers + Dynamic 130 W subwoofer Power Consumption 25 W (Center Unit) , 75 W (Subwoofer) Standby Power Consumption 0.4 W (Center Unit) (HDMI Control off, Bluetooth standby off), 1.6 W (Subwoofer)(Wireless subwoofer mode) Beam Drivers 1-1/8″ x 16 beam drivers Subwoofer Dual 4″ cone woofers Dimensions (W x H x D) 37-1/8″ x 2-7/8″ (with stands) x 5-5/8″; 37-1/8″ x 2″ (without stands) x 5-5/8″ (Center unit), 5-3/4″ x 17-1/2″ x 13-7/8″ (Vertical subwoofer) Weight 8.8 lbs. (Center unit), 17.4 lbs. (Subwoofer) Input / Output HDMI 3 in / 1 out Digital Optical 2 in Digital Coaxial 1 in Analog Audio 1 in Surround Headphone Jack Output Yes Subwoofer Output Yes HDMI 4K Pass-through Yes (60p) Deep Color Yes x.v.Color Yes 3D Pass-through Yes ARC Yes CEC Yes Auto Lip-Sync Yes Sound Technology Surround Technology Digital Sound Projector CINEMA DSP Movie 3 (Sci-Fi, Adventure, Spectacle) CINEMA DSP Music 3 (Music Video, Concert, Jazz Club) CINEMA DSP Entertainment 4 (Sports, Talk Show, Drama, Game) Listening Mode 5 Beam, 5 Beam Plus2, Stereo+3 Beam, Stereo+3 Beam PLUS2, 3 Beam, My Surround UniVolume Yes Compressed Music Enhancer Yes Audio Formats HD Audio Format Decoding Yes Dolby TrueHD Yes Dolby Digital Plus Yes Dolby Digital Yes Dolby Digital EX Yes Dolby Pro Logic Yes Dolby Pro Logic II Yes Dolby Pro Logic IIx Yes DTS-HD Master Audio Yes DTS-HD High Resolution Yes DTS-HD Yes DTS Yes DTS-Neo 6 Yes DTS-ES Yes DTS 96/24 Yes LPCM Yes Connectivity Wireless Music Streaming Yes (with Bluetooth) Bluetooth Version/Profile (Version) Ver. 2.1 + EDR (Profile) A2DP, SPP Wireless Subwoofer Yes Other Features IntelliBeam Yes On-Screen Display Yes On-Screen Display Languages English, German, French, Spanish, Italy, Swedish, Dutch, Turkish, Japanese and Chinese ECO Mode Yes App Control Yes Other Features TV Remote Repeater, system memory
Performance: The YSP-2500 is just a tad light in the midrange at times, but in most cases we were surprised at how well the sub and sound bar worked in tandem, covering the full sonic spectrum with good balance. The sub also helped flesh out gunshots & explosions in action flicks with decent results, blending well with the rest of the soundstage. For movies/tv channels viewing experience, you get a choice of ‘Beam’ or ‘Playback’ modes, which adjust the speaker configuration to suit your source, while Yamaha’s Cinema DSP modes have a fun selection of sound-effects to play around with. Our only real complaint is that the YSP-2500 only performs to its full potential in an optimal environmental setting, when it has obstacle-free, right-angled walls on its left and right off of which to bounce sound. If one’s room is not as desired, then one has the option of purchasing the YRB-100 reflective sound panels, to provide the desired reflective surfaces for bouncing the sound beams. One should also ensure that there aren’t any obstructions around the soundbar, as any obstacles will affect its sound projection capabilities and spoil the surround effect. For music performance, there are plenty of tweaks which can be used to perk up the sound quality of the YSP-2500, each offering a different type of sound useful to one’s own personal tastes & requirements. The YSP-2500 is capable of good vocals and at par performance musicality wise, but it doesn’t pretend to replace a dedicated hi-fi system. We have to applaud Yamaha for its well-designed remote handset and control app too. The remote has a premium feel, is just the right size and weight, and has logically placed buttons that are instinctive to use. Verdict: Simplicity, ease of use & decluttering are the main advantages of the YSP-2500. A good amount of technology is present in the YSP-2500. There’s the Yamaha app control, 3D and 4K passthrough, 3 useful memory presets on the remote control for saving preferred settings, namely for action movies, dialogue-heavy movies and music. The sound projection is effective at creating immersive sound once properly calibrated, while the subwoofer performance is noteworthy and integrates well with the soundbar. The YSP-2500’s big soundstage, punch and scale are impressive, and it’s the most appealing solution for those that want cinema-style sound without the tangle of wires & placement of speakers all over the room. The YSP-2500 is pricey but a good solution for people wanting ease of use in a smallish package with good performance as well.
Retail Price: Rs.1.10Lac