UPDATE August 2024 The Xbox Audio Glitch described in this video still remains at random intervals. I have however noticed random pops and distortion in Atmos content from the Xbox even through my main receiver after some recent Xbox updates. So it would seem that the Xbox is still sending corrupt Atmos packets that were mentioned in this video, I don't know how other manufacturers have handle this issue but the Yamaha soundbar still handles it by pitch shifting audio down for a moment. The soundbar has still never presented this effect with Atmos content from the TV or any other device. It's only my Xbox Series X.
Surround Sound has always been soooo important to me. Makes the Movie / TV show / Game so much immersive. I can't get on with people who watch movies on their phones.. 😂
Ohh mate cannot agree more! 50% of watching a movie is the audio, heck with Atmos I'd say it's even more for details. It's one of those "you need to experience it yourself" to really appreciate the home entertainment difference. Sure it's a luxury, but I'd much prefer buying a second hand 1080p TV with good colour and then a soundbar like this 👍
Awesome review and comparison! Are you sure the app for the sound bar doesn't have a microphone option for auto setting of speaker levels/distance? Seems like an easy implementation. I'm not sure if a stereo microphone is required for that though.
Good question! My AV receiver has the external mic for tuning, even my TV uses the mic in the remote (even though it does a horrible job 😂). But the soundbar, surprisingly no, Yamaha told me the Engineers have tuned at hardware level their "True Sound principals". And the 4 sound modes give the variance in software based EQ. So for rear satellite speaker levels it's manual which I find easiest to do when casting music as the rears just mimic front left and right.
Nice video 😀 I would love to see the same video with the Samsung 990c. It's an 11.1.4 system and should be the best for the money (according to other reviewers) So when I get the money it will be the Samsung I go for 🙂 The only thing I miss in the soundbars is the opportunity to plug in a sub from another brand - like SVS or Klipsch.
Yes that would be interesting to test! Especially since they add upward firing to their rears. It is a shame that sound bars don't add a regular RCA out for Sub's, or even a 3.5mm jack so you can use a dongle.
Yeah I agree it mixes it all to be mushy, it's like I said about the difference for bird noises, it's "somewhere above and in front" where as physical mounted directly above is "right above you, ear's prick up to the sound"
There's a lack of flexibility at the moment when it comes to high end audio systems.... - The soundbar you presented is great.. It looks like a nice tidy solution. One problem is that it will not accept a tuner, a streamer, a record player, etc.... It's only for the TV. - AV Systems will accept any number of inputs, but as far as I know, there is a problem with the soundbar / center channel dilemma. What if manufacturers made a soundbar that works as a soundbar when switched on... and works as a passive center channel speaker (setup) when the AV Receiver is on? That way, people won't have to get both.
It does work with streamers though? I showed using it with my Xbox, as either Passthrough HDMI just like my AV receiver or HDMI eARC mode from a TV. There is only one HDMI input though which is for sure not as good as a AV receiver that has multiple.
Are the upfiring speakers this effcetive? I've seen a few other reviewers and commenters (owners) comment that this soundbar's upfiring speakers can be viewed as nonexistent...(compared to those like Samsung Q700s/900s with upfiring speakers).
I've only watched one other review on this sound bar since posting my own, and the reviewer themselves stated it was nonexistent however they have acoustic treatment on their ceilings absorbing the height reflections.. so you possibly watched that one? Other than that, my opinion on the performance hasn't changed since the review, and the comments of immersion from friends and family of it against ceiling mounted speakers should also provide you with evidence that there is height presence experienced from the upfiring speakers.
Too bad you can't get the Nakaimichi dragon 11.4.6 with 3000 watts of peak power. Best System on a budget or best bang for the buck would be the Samsung 990c.
Oh I've seen that! Might have to shoot them an email to see if they've got review units. Absolute monster looking system. As for the Samsung, I know the rear surrounds are wireless but I think they still require mains power? I know it's a unique requirement but the battery powered surrounds of this system is what intrigued me as the standout for flexibility.
If you can't tell the difference between a soundbar and a home theater its because of one of two things. 1. Your home theater isnt setup and calibrated correctly. 2. Your home theater sucks.
@@camshand For starters, correct separation between speakers. Not possible with a soundbar. With this soundbar you would have to sit about 50" from it to have the dolby minimum recommended 22 degrees angle from main listening position to the Left or Right Main speakers. Speaker size. Tiny speakers tasked with reproducing mids and highs out of a not quite 2" speaker - they are not going to be able to reproduce everything, and when turned up, they are going to sound worse. 6" subwoofer. Yamaha doesn't even post specs on what Hz range it has. I doubt that it can even do 80Hz at 75dB let alone reference volume. I'm not saying its a crappy soundbar, it's probably a decent enough bar. I'm saying that no soundbar is going to compete with a decent enough home theater setup where you have at minimum an AVR, separate speakers. If you think this soundbar does compete, then either your system is absolute garbage, or it has not been setup and calibrated.
The difference is how much you get paid to advertise the sound bar 😂 then you put on some cheap blindfolds to fool us into thinking your family don't know which is playing ... Marketing done collect cheque
Do you mean for the living room setup? If so then yes they are, but it is to show a realistic living room setup. As for the home theatre, everything is within Dolby Specifications and 3D modelled to the degree. Both setups have their relevance :)
If you watch my video on wall mounting the TV you will see I took exact measurements of eye level, so it's not too high, the back of the couch is deceivingly low.
It looks like it might need more wattage to compare to Samsung and Sennheiser. Somewhere around 600- 800 watts would be sufficient, oh yeah a descent sub as well.
Which soundbar uses 600watts? Samsung's Q990C specs say 41w for the bar, and the sub is rated at 26watts from a quick check. And that's one of their top models
Haha try to compere a dolby atmost 7.1.4 or a 9.1.6 . Setup To a soundbar system. And we know what sounds most immersive. Your system is only a 5.1.2. And the yamaha subwoffer laks punch compared to a sup thats comes from a good reaciver. My orpenion tho👍
UPDATE August 2024
The Xbox Audio Glitch described in this video still remains at random intervals.
I have however noticed random pops and distortion in Atmos content from the Xbox even through my main receiver after some recent Xbox updates.
So it would seem that the Xbox is still sending corrupt Atmos packets that were mentioned in this video, I don't know how other manufacturers have handle this issue but the Yamaha soundbar still handles it by pitch shifting audio down for a moment.
The soundbar has still never presented this effect with Atmos content from the TV or any other device. It's only my Xbox Series X.
Hi, at 1:13, i want to know what monitor r u using? At side of both, what speakers is it??
Surround Sound has always been soooo important to me.
Makes the Movie / TV show / Game so much immersive.
I can't get on with people who watch movies on their phones.. 😂
Ohh mate cannot agree more! 50% of watching a movie is the audio, heck with Atmos I'd say it's even more for details.
It's one of those "you need to experience it yourself" to really appreciate the home entertainment difference.
Sure it's a luxury, but I'd much prefer buying a second hand 1080p TV with good colour and then a soundbar like this 👍
How aré those Yamaha towers? Do they sound harsh? I've seen the pop up from Time to Time and i'm curious
Awesome review and comparison! Are you sure the app for the sound bar doesn't have a microphone option for auto setting of speaker levels/distance? Seems like an easy implementation. I'm not sure if a stereo microphone is required for that though.
Good question! My AV receiver has the external mic for tuning, even my TV uses the mic in the remote (even though it does a horrible job 😂).
But the soundbar, surprisingly no, Yamaha told me the Engineers have tuned at hardware level their "True Sound principals". And the 4 sound modes give the variance in software based EQ.
So for rear satellite speaker levels it's manual which I find easiest to do when casting music as the rears just mimic front left and right.
Nice video 😀 I would love to see the same video with the Samsung 990c. It's an 11.1.4 system and should be the best for the money (according to other reviewers) So when I get the money it will be the Samsung I go for 🙂 The only thing I miss in the soundbars is the opportunity to plug in a sub from another brand - like SVS or Klipsch.
Yes that would be interesting to test! Especially since they add upward firing to their rears.
It is a shame that sound bars don't add a regular RCA out for Sub's, or even a 3.5mm jack so you can use a dongle.
@@camshand Sennheiser Ambeo Max and Plus have subouts, also the Sony A7000 had one hidden under a plastic panel.
I sell hifi, and never ever has a soundbar come close to a proper 9 speaker atmos system. Bouncy bounce sound just makes everything mix and mushy.
Yeah I agree it mixes it all to be mushy, it's like I said about the difference for bird noises, it's "somewhere above and in front" where as physical mounted directly above is "right above you, ear's prick up to the sound"
There's a lack of flexibility at the moment when it comes to high end audio systems....
- The soundbar you presented is great.. It looks like a nice tidy solution. One problem is that it will not accept a tuner, a streamer, a record player, etc.... It's only for the TV.
- AV Systems will accept any number of inputs, but as far as I know, there is a problem with the soundbar / center channel dilemma. What if manufacturers made a soundbar that works as a soundbar when switched on... and works as a passive center channel speaker (setup) when the AV Receiver is on? That way, people won't have to get both.
It does work with streamers though? I showed using it with my Xbox, as either Passthrough HDMI just like my AV receiver or HDMI eARC mode from a TV.
There is only one HDMI input though which is for sure not as good as a AV receiver that has multiple.
@@camshand - Thank You for pointing this out. Using it with a XBox streamer is a good step in the right direction.
Are the upfiring speakers this effcetive? I've seen a few other reviewers and commenters (owners) comment that this soundbar's upfiring speakers can be viewed as nonexistent...(compared to those like Samsung Q700s/900s with upfiring speakers).
I've only watched one other review on this sound bar since posting my own, and the reviewer themselves stated it was nonexistent however they have acoustic treatment on their ceilings absorbing the height reflections.. so you possibly watched that one?
Other than that, my opinion on the performance hasn't changed since the review, and the comments of immersion from friends and family of it against ceiling mounted speakers should also provide you with evidence that there is height presence experienced from the upfiring speakers.
Too bad you can't get the Nakaimichi dragon 11.4.6 with 3000 watts of peak power.
Best System on a budget or best bang for the buck would be the Samsung 990c.
Oh I've seen that! Might have to shoot them an email to see if they've got review units. Absolute monster looking system.
As for the Samsung, I know the rear surrounds are wireless but I think they still require mains power? I know it's a unique requirement but the battery powered surrounds of this system is what intrigued me as the standout for flexibility.
If you can't tell the difference between a soundbar and a home theater its because of one of two things. 1. Your home theater isnt setup and calibrated correctly. 2. Your home theater sucks.
Can you tell me what should be the obvious difference you're referring to?
exactly
@@camshand For starters, correct separation between speakers. Not possible with a soundbar. With this soundbar you would have to sit about 50" from it to have the dolby minimum recommended 22 degrees angle from main listening position to the Left or Right Main speakers. Speaker size. Tiny speakers tasked with reproducing mids and highs out of a not quite 2" speaker - they are not going to be able to reproduce everything, and when turned up, they are going to sound worse. 6" subwoofer. Yamaha doesn't even post specs on what Hz range it has. I doubt that it can even do 80Hz at 75dB let alone reference volume.
I'm not saying its a crappy soundbar, it's probably a decent enough bar. I'm saying that no soundbar is going to compete with a decent enough home theater setup where you have at minimum an AVR, separate speakers. If you think this soundbar does compete, then either your system is absolute garbage, or it has not been setup and calibrated.
The difference is how much you get paid to advertise the sound bar 😂 then you put on some cheap blindfolds to fool us into thinking your family don't know which is playing ... Marketing done collect cheque
@@JOEYZ-nq2gn correct💯👏
Damn your setup is just crazy nice and expensive :-)
0:23 true Dolby Atmos 😅 no physical speaker is the way to go
Can the solo bluetooth mode of the X1As work in pairs to form an independent bluetooth stereo speaker system?
I don't think so
Are these surround speakers can be connected to YAS 209.
Those rear speakers are WAY tooo far back. Go watch the video from Samsung where they literally show you exactly where to place those. 🤦♂️
Do you mean for the living room setup? If so then yes they are, but it is to show a realistic living room setup.
As for the home theatre, everything is within Dolby Specifications and 3D modelled to the degree. Both setups have their relevance :)
Tv is mounted too high for my taste. That seems to be the norm now.
I also hate that. TV should be mounted at eyesight.
If you watch my video on wall mounting the TV you will see I took exact measurements of eye level, so it's not too high, the back of the couch is deceivingly low.
I do not like wall mounted tv.@@camshand
We mounted a bit high... over the traditional piano. It took a while but we got used to it.
It looks like it might need more wattage to compare to Samsung and Sennheiser. Somewhere around 600- 800 watts would be sufficient, oh yeah a descent sub as well.
Which soundbar uses 600watts?
Samsung's Q990C specs say 41w for the bar, and the sub is rated at 26watts from a quick check. And that's one of their top models
@@camshand Samsung HW-Q995GC/ZG with 656 Watts
Wrong soundbar for this test…..
Good point! What if he used NO sound bar and just played the TV speakers? Ya know what I'm saying 😏
Haha try to compere a dolby atmost 7.1.4 or a 9.1.6 . Setup To a soundbar system. And we know what sounds most immersive. Your system is only a 5.1.2. And the yamaha subwoffer laks punch compared to a sup thats comes from a good reaciver.
My orpenion tho👍
Audiophile only listen to 2.0 or 2.1, and can produce better than surround