Posted Tue Jan 19, 2010 at 12:30 PM PST by Mike Attebery
They’re impressive, promising high quality sound and the ability to play songs from your iPod and iPhone wirelessly, but they don’t come cheap.
Yamaha says Digital Sound Projectors, I say soundbars. Either way, it amounts to the same thing. The YSP-5100 and YSP-4100 deliver surround sound from a single speaker designed to sit under your HDTV.
Both sport a total of forty beam drivers, which reflect sound off of walls or aim directly at the viewer to simulate a surround sound experience. They’ve also got a pair of woofers with dedicated amplifiers. The 5100 gets the added bonus of a pair of individually amped tweeters to fill out the sound.
Yamaha’s new soundbars can decode Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and DTS HD High Resolution, so there’s no need to worry about Blu-ray compatibility. They also offer six different listening modes that simulate 5.1, 7.1, and 2.1 sound output.
Of course, like most home theater components in the last few years, Yamaha’s soundbars have iPhone connectivity. Unlike most home theater components, they do it gracefully and subtly. Rather than docking your iPhone in the soundbar or connecting it via a headphone jack, Yamaha’s yAired technology can pull the audio straight from your phone without the use of wires.
Both soundbars will be shipping this month. The YSP-5100 is priced at $2,199, while the YSP-4100 runs $1,899. Optional tabletop pedestals and floor stands will be available as well.
Source: Yamaha (PDF)
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