
Published 2018-08-27 - 11:13 am
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- HDMI: 3 in/1 out (ARC)
- Digital in: Optical, coaxial
- Network: Wi-Fi, ethernet
- Wireless: MusicCast, Bluetooth (aptX)
- Analogue in: RCA
- Subwoofer: Wireless
- W x H x D: 94.4 x 5.1 x 15.4 cm
- Colour: Black, silver
Yamaha is the mother of all soundbars, and was first out with soundbars where a whole bunch of speaker drivers used the ceilings and walls to reflect the sound from behind the back channels, so the sound actually hit the listener from behind. The surround sound is thereby not virtual, but genuine.
The YSP-2700 utilises 16 speaker drivers that work together to create true 7.1 channel surround sound. A measurement microphone is included to make the configuration automatic, which would otherwise be very cumbersome and time-consuming (and probably impossible) to do manually.
Three HDMI inputs support all latest HDCP 2.2 copy protection, essential for rendering Ultra HD video. On the music side, Yamaha’s multi-room audio system MusicCast is used, so that the soundbar can be grouped with other products on the same home network. It is finally official that the soundbar has an built-in support for Tidal and Deezer, in addition to Spotify which it already had. However, this was not available during the testing period.
The user-friendliness is very good. Automatic setup with a measurement microphone is a breeze, and connecting to a network is easy with the MusicCast app. MusicCast is also very easy to use, a system we like very much.
Sound quality
So far so good. Unfortunately, it’s not as good when the movie is inserted in the Blu-ray player. It becomes immediately clear that the soundbar itself does not play low enough to work well with the accompanying subwoofer. There is almost only treble sound coming from the soundbar, while the subwoofer plays too far into the midrange. Not far enough, because there is a hole in the frequency range between the sub and soundbar. But still far too high for it to be good for anything at all. Take dialogue, for instance. The consonants from the actors are emitted through the soundbar. But the chest voice – the vowels – come from the subwoofer. With the surround sound feature enabled, some of this is fixed since it takes some of the focus away from this phenomenon, and one can sit and enjoy surround sound to some extent . But it is there all the time. The further away the subwoofer is placed from the TV, the worse it gets, so be sure to keep it as close as possible.
Music in stereo becomes a crisis. The lower frequency range from all instruments comes from the subwoofer, while the soundbar renders the hissing sound from the upper midrange and upwards. The whole soundscape is crooked and it engages poorly.
Conclusion
Yamaha YSP-2700 uses advanced digital processing and many speaker drivers to reproduce true surround sound, using the room’s walls, ceilings and floors. It also has the multi-room feature, MusicCast, which allows it to be able to integrate with an already existing multi-room setup from Yamaha. Smart.
What is not so smart is that it stumbles in the area of sound quality. The soundbar doesn’t go far enough in frequency, so the subwoofer has to play midrange. Vowels in vocals and dialogue come from the subwoofer, while consonants come from the soundbar. It works poorly.
Also in this test
Bluesound Pulse Soundbar
The most accomplished
Bluesound’s soundbar costs a bit more, but pays off in the form of a much better experiences on both film and music.
Sonos PlayBase
The TV's resting pad
Sonos’ new sound base PlayBase acts as a base for the TV. But did it arrive too late?
Sony HT-NT5
Good compromise
This is designed to lie flat and point towards the ceiling, but nevertheless sounds good facing forward. It works pretty good.
Samsung HW-MS660
Impressive balance
Samsung’s soundbar sounds just as well on music as it does for movies.
Yamaha YAS-306
Rather complete
If you are looking for an affordable option with multi-room, and do not want an extra bass crate, then this one is good.
Philips HTL5160
Clear speech
The Philips soundbar does its job, with crystal clear dialogue and a fairly balanced sound.
Bose SoundTouch 300
Not good enough
Bose has banked on user-friendliness, but has unfortunately forgotten about the sound quality.
Klipsch RSB-14
A lot of sound pressure, little else
Klipsch has the highest sound pressure in the test. But the soundbar disappoints on sound quality.
Heos HomeCinema
User-friendly and tough
Heos has endowed this with user-friendliness, and here one also gets tough, rich sound for one’s money.