Yamaha Digital Sound Projector YSP-1000

Table Of Content

As a successor to the award winning YSP-1 surround sound system under the Yamaha initiative, YSP-1000 carries the legacy of the YSP-1 with even more attractive innovations with the Yamaha’s Digital Sound Projection technology. While it easily fits beneath a large-screen, flatpanel TV or monitor, it gives users a Yamaha quality surround sound experience.

Design
The YSP-1000, measuring at 40.6" x 7.6" x 4.6" that comes with magnetic shielding, is a fantastic system without the hassles of wiring and cabling attachments. This neatly designed system sports 40 sound beam drivers, nicely hidden behind the speaker grille. It directs high frequency sounds, bouncing them off the sidewalls and projecting them forward to the listener. Two large speaker drivers at both ends of the unit tunes to the mid or bass frequencies. Include this with the YSP-1000’s very own internal digital amplification system, users need not spend any extra sum for a bulky add-on surround amplifier.A subdued blue LCD display on the front panel offers information regarding processing mode and volume.

Setting up the YSP-1000
The original bundle comes with a digital cable and a component cable, as well as analog patch cords. The remote controls the audio switching and there is a jack for connection to a mono subwoofer. It also includes SRS TruBass, however, do not have high expectations to this since the small enclosures and power will not allow the maximum output for the lowest key octave.

The owner’s manual does give suggestions for the best set-up, which is a square, or rectangular, room with evenly-spaced walls on the sides to allow its 40 sound beam drivers bounce off high frequency sounds at the sidewalls and project them towards the listener. It should be installed exactly between the two walls, and should be raised if there are windows and drapes or blinds. There should not be any furniture between the sides of the system and the walls, remember that there are two large speaker drivers at both ends of the units for mid or bass frequencies.

Next is the set-up for the optimizer microphone. There is a neat cardboard mic stand provided for the optimizer mic; otherwise, it should be directly in front of the system. Once the microphone position is decided, select the AutoRun, which is the IntelliBeam feature, that will take several minutes to set up completely.

Sound quality
YSP-1000 has seven Cinema DSP Programs, which means more selection based on different playback. For music playback, there are the expected Concert Hall, Jazz Club and Music Video selections. There is a special one for sports, and three others classified as Sci-Fi, Spectacle and Adventure. There are also settings for late night listening, with compressions adjustable to minimum, medium and maximum.

The main surround modes for the average user are three, namely the Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby ProLogic II, which adds a surround effect to any two-channel source. For Dolby ProLogic II, users are spoilt to choices with the traditional ProLogic, PL II Movie, PL II Music, PL II Game, Neo:6 Cinema and Neo:6 Music. Neo 6: Cinema and Neo:6 Music are DTS’ version of ambiance recovery. In ProLogic II, users may also optimize usage with the three usual settings of Panorama, Dimension and Center Width.

Pros and Cons
Yamaha has been thoughtful enough to include plenty of features and an automated calibration system which helps in the calibration of its 42 amazing drivers (each powered by its own channel of amplification). With Yamaha’s IntelliBeam Automated Calibration System and microphone, it does not take a genius to set up this system anywhere in a room. With its complicated designs nicely wrapped within an attractive chassis, Yamaha also includes some advanced signal processing for all its seven Cinema DSP programs. There is also a room equalizer, a separate bass, treble and tone controls, plus optical and coaxial digital audio inputs, as well as a pair of analog audio inputs and a subwoofer output. It can also perform video switching as it has two component video inputs and one composite video output.

The YSP-1000 does not decode either of the multichannel hi-res formats. It also does not have a six-channel analog input to process SACD or DVD-A signals. If you are playing a DVD-A, you need to select the Dolby 5.1 option and on SACD, the CD layer.

Conclusion
While it cannot compete with a true, multi-channel, multi-speaker system, users will still be surprisingly delighted with the depth of sound provided by the YSP-1000. For an average user, this system is more than sufficient to experience quality surround sound projection anytime.

If you are not looking for the quality offered by a 5.1 or 7.1 system, but still want to get high quality video and sound, the HTS8140 is the right unit for you. The design will attract anyone in just a couple of seconds and if you turn on a movie, you will certainly seal the deal. While the sound system performs admirably, the video quality is the key feature of this product and no one will be disappointed by it. Watching a movie will never be the same after a few minutes of watching one on the Philips HTS8140. This is not the best product on the market, but it is certainly one of the best ones in this price range.

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