Yamaha YHT-S401

Had a look at this in Richer Sounds today, has anyone got any experience or thoughts on it? Trying to weigh up my options. Any input welcome. :)

http://www.audio-express.co.uk/product.php?_YAM_YHTS401_&CAT=SOUNDBAR&id=6306&t=gs

My budget is roughly £400, £500 at a stretch.

Comments

  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    Yamaha are a good brand. You could certainly do a lot worse.

    Mind you if I was spending £4-500 on a system I wouldn't be looking at soundbars. Although if you don't want or can't accommodate a full surround system then I can understand the reasoning behind them.

    An alternative to a soundbar might be a 2.1 system. ie separate stereo speakers and sub. For example something like this

    http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/onkyo/htx22hdx/onky-htx22hdx-blk

    Cheaper than the Yamaha but very good value for the money. And the sub hides a very good AV amp in the back so apart from the FM tuner it does pretty much everything the Yamaha does. And it can be expanded into a full 5.1 surround system if you feel the urge. And the good news is it's cheaper :)
  • kramstan70kramstan70 Posts: 428
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    I have a Yamaha YHT S400 which is the previous model. I'm looking to sell mine if you want to PM me.
  • bobcarbobcar Posts: 19,424
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    I have a Yamaha sound projector (not that one) and find it very good. The surround sound is pretty effective (you can get a helicopter flying around you for example) but obviously not as good as a full set of speakers - the room layout and positioning will obviously have a big bearing on the sound effect, I guess wallpaper would not be good. Mine (I assume yours will be the same) came with a microphone and you do need to set this up properly to get decent surround sound.
  • kramstan70kramstan70 Posts: 428
    Forum Member
    bobcar wrote: »
    I have a Yamaha sound projector (not that one) and find it very good. The surround sound is pretty effective (you can get a helicopter flying around you for example) but obviously not as good as a full set of speakers - the room layout and positioning will obviously have a big bearing on the sound effect, I guess wallpaper would not be good. Mine (I assume yours will be the same) came with a microphone and you do need to set this up properly to get decent surround sound.

    I also have the Yamaha YSP2200 sound projector, which is what I upgraded to from the YHT S400 sound bar. The technology behind the Yamaha sound projectors and the YHT series of sound bars are completely different. There is no microphone set up with the YHT S400 or 401; they use something called Head Related Transfer Function, which gives the impression of surround sound by using digital filtering. This provides a more consistent surround sound experience as it doesn't depend on the layout of your room to the same extent that a sound projector does which actually bounces sound waves off your walls.

    In my opinion the YT S400 is a really good soundbar that does a good job of creating a pseudo surround effect, but is in no way comparable to the sound projector which actually provides (in my case) surround sound by accurately placing the virtual speakers around the room. There is no tweaking of the surround sound function with the YHT as there is in the case of a sound projector, so in that case it's a lot easier to set up as its more or less plug and play. Of course the surround sound projectors are a lot more expensive and you won't get the Yamaha YSP 2200 within a budget of £500 unless you look around for a refurb model or second hand.

    The YHT S401 and S400 both deal with all the latest HD sound formats, have optical and HDMI inputs and 3D, with the YHT S400 coming with an inbuilt sub within the amp (it actually works pretty well). I'm not sure about the 401, but it comes with a sub I think- just not sure whether it's built into the amp.

    The YHT S400 and 401 are good alternatives if you don't have the space or inclination to install a standard 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system. Don't expect the cheaper Yamaha sound bars to recreate the surround sound experience of a normal home cinema speaker set up. If you want to retain the convenience of a sound bar and recreate surround sound which isn't far off a normal 5.1/7.1 set up you will need to opt for the more expensive sound projector option in my opinion. It depends where you are looking to install it- if it's just for a bedroom the YHT S400 or S401 will be just fine as it will improve the audio of your TV massively. Your rooms may not suit a surround sound projector such as the YSP2200 as it does depend on having solid surfaces to bounce the sound waves off. If you have a large open plan room or an oddly shaped room it may not be for you. Saying that though, my room is partially open plan in a sort of L shape but with solid walls behind the seating position and either side of the sound bar and it works really well. It's probably best to do a bit more research and if you can try some out. Unfortunately these types of sound bar are notoriously diffcult to demo, but if you can then do that. There are lots of different sound bars around as I'm sure you will have found, but in my experience and for the money Yamaha manufacture the best on the market.
  • bobcarbobcar Posts: 19,424
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    kramstan70 wrote: »
    I also have the Yamaha YSP2200 sound projector, which is what I upgraded to from the YHT S400 sound bar. The technology behind the Yamaha sound projectors and the YHT series of sound bars are completely different. There is no microphone set up with the YHT S400 or 401; they use something called Head Related Transfer Function, which gives the impression of surround sound by using digital filtering. This provides a more consistent surround sound experience as it doesn't depend on the layout of your room to the same extent that a sound projector does which actually bounces sound waves off your walls.

    In my opinion the YT S400 is a really good soundbar that does a good job of creating a pseudo surround effect, but is in no way comparable to the sound projector which actually provides (in my case) surround sound by accurately placing the virtual speakers around the room. There is no tweaking of the surround sound function with the YHT as there is in the case of a sound projector, so in that case it's a lot easier to set up as its more or less plug and play. Of course the surround sound projectors are a lot more expensive and you won't get the Yamaha YSP 2200 within a budget of £500 unless you look around for a refurb model or second hand.

    Thanks for that. I just did a quick Google for the particular device and the link I went to said "sound projector" so I assumed it was a similar device, obviously not.
  • powarpowar Posts: 302
    Forum Member
    Appreciate all your input. :) Looking to buy new, thanks for offer though. Our living room is quite small, 5.1 would probably be overkill tbh, which is why I'm leaning towards a sound bar. Will google/YouTube some more! :)
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