The Yamaha YSP-3000 is a $1,000 sound bar, but you might find it at a lower price these days. This system is not just an audio unit, but a product which can also comes with XM satellite radio, an FM tuner and even 1080p HDMI switching. Unlike other sounds bars, you won’t need an AV receiver and the set up process is extremely simple.
Design
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The YSP-3000 has a front panel which is covered by a grey metal grille. You will also notice a small LCD display which will show you information such as volume. There are only a couple of buttons on the soundbar itself, such as volume and the input selection button.
The unit weights 25.4 pounds and it is 31.5 inches wide, 5.9 inches deep and 6.1 inches tall. These measurements make it larger than most soundbars, especially when you look at height and depth. If you can’t fit in under or in front of your TV, you will have to buy the SPM-K30 bracket and wall mount it. Yamaha could have included a mounted bracket for this sound bar, but apparently they didn’t.
You will receive a remote control with the package, but the number of buttons will certainly surprise you. While other sound bar remotes come with only a handful of buttons, this one contains no less than 58 of them. This means that you will be able to make adjustments for individual channel levels and you can even control your TV. Because most buttons are similar in size and shape and the remote isn’t backlit, you will have to memorize some of them and this will take a while.
The unit uses 21 drivers which measure 1.5 inch each for bouncing the sound off the walls of your room. This means that large pieces of furniture or the lack of a back wall will lower the surround capabilities of this system. If you don’t have large drapes and if most of your walls are not decorated with anything, the sound quality will be better. The YSP 3000 also contains 2 woofers which measure 4 inches each. The total power offered by the system is 82 watts.
Setting up the Yamaha YSP 3000
If you want a system which is easy to calibrate, this is the one. With the IntelliBeam feature, you can just plug in the included microphone, go to the menu and let the system figure out which are the best settings for your type of room. In just a couple of minutes, everything will be ready. If you want to make a couple of adjustments, you can improve the sound quality even more. You can individually adjust the levels of your sub or speaker, set the delay and choose between 4 different beam presets to see which one fits your room best. If this doesn’t work, you can always change the position of the sound bar itself. If you place it higher on the wall, the surround sound quality will surely get better.
The system is capable of Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, DTS Neo:6, Dolby Digital, Cinema DSP and Neural Surround. Unfortunately, the lack of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio can’t go unnoticed, especially if you want to play Blu-ray movies and expect high quality sound. Even so, the sound quality shouldn’t disappoint you in most cases.
If you take a look at the rear panel, you will notice two HDMI inputs and one output, along with a subwoofer output. You will also see two optical digital inputs, two stereo analog inputs and two coaxial digital inputs. You can also use the dock terminal if you have the Yamaha YDS-10 iPod dock. However, if you decide to use your iPod, keep in mind that only audio and video files can be played and pictures won’t be detected. Other audio players can be connected through the 3.5 mm jack.
If you plan on connecting a HDMI set, you will have to use the composite video output of the sound bar and connect it to your TV if you want to see the menu. This is a somewhat complicated procedure and most people won’t enjoy connecting these cables.
From time to time, when watching an action scene, you will notice the lack of a subwoofer since the sound bar doesn’t pack enough punch to make you feel like the action is happening around you. At 82 watts, the system isn’t powerful enough for this type of sounds, but the situation will get better if you place the sound bar in a smaller room.
Sound quality
When it comes to the sound stage, the Yamaha YSP 3000 does an amazing job. No matter where you are sited, you will still feel the immersive sound offered by this system and every tone will reach your ears from a different angle. If you are looking for bass in particular, you should consider buying a separate subwoofer, but most people will enjoy the sound quality without this addition. The YSP 3000 performs great in this category and the surround sound feeling will surely be present at all times.
Listening to music on the Yamaha YSP 3000 seems to be better in the Stereo mode. If you use the surround feature, the sound quality will get lowered.
Pros and Cons
After you finish setting up the system, you will surely enjoy the sound quality offered by Yamaha. The YSP 3000 is great with stereo music, it can offered surround sound when you need it to and the overall quality is certainly impressive.
Even so, the lack of a subwoofer will be noticed at times and the connectivity could have been better.
Conclusion
At $1,200, the Yamaha YSP-3000 is a great sound bar. There are some minor problems which can be noticed with this system, but if you can get around the fact that the YSP 3000 doesn’t support Dolby TrueHD, you should definitely buy it. The sound quality offered by Yamaha is impeccable and the surround sound illusion will certainly trick everyone who is listening.
