I want to buy a soundbar - Yamaha YSP-1600 or something else?

TheVoice

TheVoice

TheVoice

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I moved into a new flat last week, and have decided that I really cannot be bothered setting up my Onkyo 5.1 system again. I've had it for several years and it's done well, but I just want something simple and with less wires. It'll be used mostly for TV, gaming and music streaming.

The Yamaha YSP-1600 has caught my eye, and as I have £40 worth of vouchers to use at RS it seems a good deal. Is there anything better out there for the money? I'm inclined to not get one with a dedicated sub at this point as I have people in the flat below me and don't really want to be the cause of a noise complaint.
 
I've got a Sonos Playbar, excellent piece of kit. Also if you decide to add sonos sub or rear speakers at some point it supports wireless connections with expanded speakers. Downside, you will be limited to DD 5.1 by it's single optical input.

I've also read many good things about the Dali Kubik one
 
You won't go wrong with a Yamaha they get decent reviews. But im not sure if the Yamaha would be great for Music the Q-Acoustics M3 on the other hand maybe better for Music then the Yamaha
 
you can't go wrong with yamaha. samsung are also pretty good. see if you can demo both and crank them up to see the power output. you won't be able to really test their virtual surround in a store buy yamaha excel at this.

however a soundbar (any soundbar) will sound crap compared to a proper 5.1 set up

ghutchison14078 said:
I've got a Sonos Playbar, excellent piece of kit.
Click to expand...

it's terrible and the money they charge for it is laughable. my mate spent £600 on one then another £600 on the subwoofer. £1200 worth of kit yet it sounds terrible with no depth to it.

it also doesn't support as many inputs (sound formats) as it should for the money they charge. it's the worse speaker you can buy in the sonos catalogue. their other "music" speakers are much better and cheaper too.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
you can't go wrong with yamaha. samsung are also pretty good. see if you can demo both and crank them up to see the power output. you won't be able to really test their virtual surround in a store buy yamaha excel at this.

however a soundbar (any soundbar) will sound crap compared to a proper 5.1 set up



it's terrible and the money they charge for it is laughable. my mate spent £600 on one then another £600 on the subwoofer. £1200 worth of kit yet it sounds terrible with no depth to it.

it also doesn't support as many inputs (sound formats) as it should for the money they charge. it's the worse speaker you can buy in the sonos catalogue. their other "music" speakers are much better and cheaper too.
Click to expand...


In my experience, it sounds extremely good for the money. I've heard systems upwards of £5,000 and if you have the right input (i.e. don't use low bit-rate mp3s) it's not far off. Of course some people who are well into their sound will disagree. Saying it's terrible however is not true or accurate; for the money it is a very good system, albeit with its limitations, but also with some very good connectivity, adaptability, keeps the missus happy and has good sound quality.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
you can't go wrong with yamaha. samsung are also pretty good. see if you can demo both and crank them up to see the power output. you won't be able to really test their virtual surround in a store buy yamaha excel at this.

however a soundbar (any soundbar) will sound crap compared to a proper 5.1 set up



it's terrible and the money they charge for it is laughable. my mate spent £600 on one then another £600 on the subwoofer. £1200 worth of kit yet it sounds terrible with no depth to it.

it also doesn't support as many inputs (sound formats) as it should for the money they charge. it's the worse speaker you can buy in the sonos catalogue. their other "music" speakers are much better and cheaper too.
Click to expand...

I can't argue for the Sonos as value for money, it is pricey for what it is. But in no way does it sound terrible, and if you utilise its wireless "zone" expandable features it is an excellent solution if that's what an end user is looking for.

Yes ideally we would all have proper av receivers and 7.2.4 Atmos speaker setups but sometimes it just isn't feasible due to space or budget, so soundbars do fulfil a need, audio purists will generally look down there nose at them but if you want improved tv audio from a compact package they are great.

The Playbar also looks great wall mounted under my Sony 65" XE9305 ( if you care about such things)
 
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FYI

I own a semi decent 5.1 system and I have bought 3 different yamaha soundbars.

Yamaha blows the water out of Sonos in the soundbar category. It's crap for the money. £1200 for the bar plus a sub. That gets you a top of the range Yamaha soundbar which will destroy most setups.

"
Yamaha YSP-1600 Soundbar Review


Should I buy one?
At current prices, the Yamaha YSP-1600 is a great buy in the sub £400 soundbar category. The build quality is top notch and connectivity options, including an HDCP 2.2 compliant HDMI input capable of accepting 4K signals up to 60 frames per second, are almost equally as solid. You also get integration with Yamaha's excellent MusicCast system, turning the YSP-1600 into a networked audio streamer and/or part of a multi-room audio system. This 5.1 digital sound projector also lives up to its name by actually being capable of producing sound behind the listening position, courtesy of eight 'beam' drivers that can be adjusted for different room layouts. It's equally at home with movies, TV and music, too, so whatever you throw at it, the Yamaha sounds accomplished and refined. The only negatives we can mention are a somewhat cheap feeling remote and that the system can sound a little thin in the bass department with those low frequency effects in movies, although you can add an external subwoofer if you like, but that doesn't stop the Yamaha YSP-1600 from coming Highly Recommended.

What else is there?
The first soundbar that came to mind as an alternative is the Q Acoustics M4 which is highly comparable in terms of sound quality and costs roughly the same but it lacks HDMI connectivity, if that’s important to you. Also priced at £349 is the Samsung HW-K550which doesn’t sound quite as accomplished as the YSP-1600 in terms of its all-round capabilities but it does have HDMI connectivity and slightly more low-end thanks to a dedicated wireless subwoofer. The Cambridge Audio TVB2 is another one to consider and that sports 4 HDMI inputs, sounds comparable to the Samsung and is priced at £329."


https://www.avforums.com/review/yamaha-ysp-1600-soundbar-review.12662#sectionAnchor46239


samsungs are also well regarded nowadays too

https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-hw-ms6500-soundbar-review.13574

even this will destroy a sonos playbar and sub

https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-hw-k950-dolby-atmos-soundbar-review.12848
 
To be fair I've been eyeing up the Sony HT-ST5000, just waiting for it to come down in price a bit.

I reckon I could get about a grand for my Playbar and Sub, but I don't really want to put 500 cash to upgrade to the Sony, hoping for a black Friday deal somewhere on it.
 
ghutchison14078 said:
To be fair I've been eyeing up the Sony HT-ST5000, just waiting for it to come down in price a bit.

I reckon I could get about a grand for my Playbar and Sub, but I don't really want to put 500 cash to upgrade to the Sony, hoping for a black Friday deal somewhere on it.
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That soundbar is £1500. You can get a excellent 2 or 2.1 system for that, and it'll have better sound quality, connectivity, and upgradability.
 
ghutchison14078 said:
To be fair I've been eyeing up the Sony HT-ST5000, just waiting for it to come down in price a bit.

I reckon I could get about a grand for my Playbar and Sub, but I don't really want to put 500 cash to upgrade to the Sony, hoping for a black Friday deal somewhere on it.
Click to expand...

used audio stuff usually plummets in value. your talking 50% at best. there is no way i would pay £1000 for something second hand when it's brand new with extended warranty from john lewis for £1200.

i think both the £350 yamaha soundbars i bought i paid around £160 for them including delivery second hand.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
used audio stuff usually plummets in value. your talking 50% at best. there is no way i would pay £1000 for something second hand when it's brand new with extended warranty from john lewis for £1200.

i think both the £350 yamaha soundbars i bought i paid around £160 for them including delivery second hand.
Click to expand...

Biggest reduction for me was 78%, 80%, 81%, and 85%. Literally saving several thousand pounds.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
used audio stuff usually plummets in value. your talking 50% at best. there is no way i would pay £1000 for something second hand when it's brand new with extended warranty from john lewis for £1200.

i think both the £350 yamaha soundbars i bought i paid around £160 for them including delivery second hand.
Click to expand...
I've watched a couple of playbars and Sonos subs on eBay recently out of interest, and both of them combined would fetch about a grand, then minus fees.
 
Then don't buy floorstander speakers. Plenty of options, how about some bookshelf speakers and a T-Amplifier?

I don't the Q Acoustics QTV I have at 10x less than that Sony is anywhere much inferior overall.
 
ghutchison14078 said:
I've watched a couple of playbars and Sonos subs on eBay recently out of interest, and both of them combined would fetch about a grand, then minus fees.
Click to expand...

argghh ebay. where morons will pay full brand new retail price for second hand goods.

make sure it's collection only and cash in hand. i wouldn't be posting £1200 worth of gear on ebay.
 
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