YAMAHA Dolby Atmos Sound Bar With Subwoofers

I received a sound bar and subwoofer. This sound bar is made by Yamaha, a company with a long history of making quality audio products. The sound bar was accompanied by an optical cable, a remote control, a printed quick start guide, and a template to use if mounting the sound bar. A full manual is available online on the Yamaha web site, and it details all the features of the sound bar, and I recommend you read it. The sound bar is accompanied by a good sized subwoofer that connects wirelessly to the soundbar, which I like, as this eliminates the necessity of running a connecting audio cable, and allows one to place the subwoofer anywhere in the room. Both the soundbar and subwoofer still require access to wall power receptacles.
I followed the quick start guide to get the sound bar hooked up to my television. Initially, I only used the optical cable (my TV didn’t support HDMI eARC), but after reading the full manual later, realized that I could control some of the sound bar functionality by also connecting an HDMI cable, so I eventually proceeded to do this. This HDMI Control function worked well with my older television, and the television controls could now control some aspects of my soundbar, such as the volume. I also download the soundbar app for my Android cell phone and proceeded to follow the on screen directions on connecting the sound bar to the internet. This was fairly straight forward, and in just a few minutes, the soundbar was connected and I then proceeded to update the soundbar with its latest firmware.
I tested the functionality and sound quality of the sound bar using both my television as well as music from my cell phone. This sound bar was vastly superior to my previous basic sound bar, and produced sound and music that could easily fill my 300 square foot living room. Having the subwoofer is particularly nice, and I like that you can adjust its volume using the remote to satisfy different listeners. One nice feature of this sound bar is that it allows bluetooth connections from devices such as cell phones, and allows one to play music this way. This soundbar also supports connections to several music streaming subscription services, which is nice, but I wasn’t currently planning to use these, and therefore didn’t test this ability. Overall, a great sounding soundbar with a lot of extra functionality that all works really well, highly recommended.

This is the best soundbar I have used. Previously I used a smaller sized one, then upgraded to a slightly larger one that had a powered sub. Now I am trying this Yamaha which has the most speakers and a bigger powered sub. For reference, I am also comparing it to two component systems I have.

SETUP – Ridiculously easy. Comes with everything you need (2 power cords + a optical cable), and you can add an app on a smartphone. I highly recommend doing this as the control options are superb and simple. Initially I was fully up and running without the app, no issues at all. The app allowed me to update the firmware and see the settings. Somehow this can tell if it is a movie vs audio and seems to adjust accordingly.

SOUND QUALITY – Right away you notice Yamaha quality: crystal clear sound quality, tones that are essentially like they were recorded. Absolutely zero background noise or hiss. This reproduces movie voices in a way that I can hear everyone clearly, something my 5.1 surround speakers fail to do as well despite a Yamaha receiver on that setup too. I attribute it to higher quality speakers built into the soundbar.

BASS RESPONSE – A powered subwoofer is an absolute necessity for soundbars and home theatre setups. Especially with this soundbar, as it hits mids & highs brilliantly. The sub has great frequency range, allowing you to hear all of the lows. This is very important for both music and movies as many setups do not even let you hear bass frequencies, which add so much to the experience. But to be absolutely clear: the bass does not “hit” at all, but you hear everything (detailed below).

COMPONENT AUDIO vs SOUNDBAR?
I have my theatre setup w/ 5.1 Dolby (Sony speakers) and a 10” powered sub (Cerwin-Vega car audio driver), and my PC setup is a tube amp + 2 JBL bookshelf speakers + powered Yamaha 8” sub. I tend to like bass heavy sound, so I overdo that aspect. This Yamaha True-X Bar Soundbar + Sub holds its own, coming out better on the mids and highs, no real comparison. The crispness is phenomenal. In fact the was the singers in music sound is stunningly accurate – I mean they sounded like they did at a live concert when I was front row! I did not expect that. This beats both my component systems.
The bass is not booming, however. You can “hear” all the bass, but you really cannot “feel” it. This also surprised me, as I believe this to be an 8” sub, but it is side firing and the box is also ported. Great sound, not too much vibrations. This would work well in apartments or any room where you do not want to rattle the walls and/or other rooms. Kind of a nice change actually; but both my setups come out ahead as they will rattle the walls and you can feel the bass. With this, there is no rattling of anything. Stunningly so in fact, as my Yamaha 6” powered sub runs circles around this “8 inch powered sub” even at minimal volumes. In fact, my twin 6” JBL bookshelf speakers deliver more bass. It is to the point I genuinely wondered if my powered sub is somehow defective. But the overall sound is so clean and I can definitely “hear” it working, and without it (manually powering off) results in a very different sound. Playing actual bass music (Dynamix II etc) results in this subwoofer actually hitting sub 10hz with no struggles or flatness. I have blown speakers with such music, and these carried it well. The range is incredible! It is just a system designed to cover all frequencies without being overbearing or shaking everything.

SUMMARY – I love this for movies and general purpose use. It is a great all around setup, and absolutely fantastic using with a TV, and even via BT with phones/tablets. I streamed Tidal HiFi on this without issue. It is not lacking in any way. I recommend this to everyone unless you are really looking for Bass response that you can feel, like in a movie theatre or a dance club. This will not deliver that level of bass. It is ideal for those who want crisp, clean sound with a full range, and a super easy setup process. It is also easy to move around if needed.

Sound bars have come a long way. We have a Bose component system in our bedroom and a five-year-old top-of-the-line soundbar with Blutetooth subwoofer in the living room. We replaced the living room system with the Yamaha True X Bar 50A sound bar. The old soundbar did not connect to wifi. Its rather crude remote provided the only access, but it did work. Setting up the 50A was a very different experience.

You have to download a phone app to set up any of the Yamaha True-Voice sound bars. It was easy to find and set up on my iPhone. When I opened the app, it showed an animation and said it was searching for sound bars. That wasn’t true, exactly. It turns out that it was searching for sound bars that had already been set up. After waiting an embarrassingly long time, I touched the continue button and the real setup began. The process was very easy. It took just a few minutes to complete. Expect to wait for the firmware to update. You don’t have to do anything to make that happen. Once setup finishes you are ready to go.

You connect your 50A in one of two ways: via a special HDMI port on your TV or via fiber optic cable on the TV. Our TV didn’t have the special HDMI port, so we used the provided fiber optic cable to connect the TV to the 50A.

I tuned to the Metropolitan Opera streaming app on my Firestick (Amazon streaming product). I chose a 2022 performance of a favorite opera. I chose Movie mode on the 50A. It has several modes you can select. Each offers a different set of boosts and dips across audible frequencies. The Movie mode provided me with the most pleasing theater effect. There is both an overall volume control and subwoofer volume control on the remote. It was easy to get the sound I wanted. What great sound it was!

The soundfield was perfect! Every instrument in the orchestra was easily located across the screen. Singers were heard in the correct positions. The overall frequency response was incredible. It felt like I was at the Met. I had a subscription there for years and I know how the house sounds. The 50A and the quality of the recording brought it to life. I love this product!

THE BAD NEWS

That’s the good news. Sadly, there’s some bad news too. Without the optional (and currently unavailable) surround speakers, the full depth of the hall couldn’t be reproduced. Yes, it was a magnificent stereo experience, but I miss the sound of the hall that the surround speakers supply. I expect that Yamaha will release the Bluetooth surround speakers soon. They are expected to cost $150 each. That adds another $300 to the system pricetag. I’m sure they will be worth it.

The second flaw is probably correctable if Yamaha pays attention to this reviewer. The Alexa experience is useless in our house. We have Echo devices everywhere in our house. In order to prevent chaos, we use different “wake words” for devices. The 50A can only be addressed as “Alexa.” Sorry, Yamaha, that’s taken. In the Alexa phone app, when I went to the 50A device listing, I discovered that Yamaha didn’t provide wake word selection. The 50A has to be named “Alexa.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, the 50A responds at full volume. Let me explain. The soundbar is set up to deliver full-throated theater sound when turned on. The last thing I need to hear is the 50A responding to an Alexa command at that volume. Yamaha needs to provide a way to let Alexa respond at a more reasonable level.

Because of these problems, we pressed the microphone mute button on the sound bar and had to abandon the Alexa functionality. That’s too bad since we wanted to play Amazon Music through the 50A. I hope a future firmware fix takes care of these problems.

Yamaha makes several similar Atmos sound bars. This is the most powerful and expensive. It’s the only one with Alexa built in (if you care). By the way, there is an Amazon Music app that runs on your TV or firestick/cube that will let you play music through the sound bar. The 50A has the most power and deepest base. It flawlessly delivers the most critical audio. It should be amazing with games and all sorts of TV. This is one of those products that is worth the extra cost, especially if you have a large room to fill with amazing sound.

I have had a more entry level sound bar with wireless subwoofer for years now and have had no issue with it. Pretty much any sound bar will sound better than the built in TV speakers. I decided it was time to upgrade the old sound bar for a better movie watching experience. I expected it to be better but not this much better! This sound bar can get super loud while keeping everything crisp and clear. The sub can really pack a punch making action movies that much more immersive. It also makes for a great music speaker, I can easily hook up any Bluetooth device to it or connect to it through my home network directly from my iPhone.

I mainly use the soundbar through my TV using the eARC port, setting this up is super easy and only requires an HDMI cable, unfortunately one was not included though. The subwoofer is wireless so only needs to be plugged into power, it connected to the sound bar right away without issues. There is no display on the soundbar, it does however have lights which show which features are enabled/disabled. The lights also act as a “progress bar” to show volume level for example. It is not bad but would prefer a number to show the volume or sub levels. There is an app available, this makes setup a little easier as it provides an interface to the settings. But honestly the star of the show is just the awesome sound quality, it is miles ahead of my previous sound bar. For general TV watching like the news or reality shows, it is not as noticeable but it really is awesome when watching movies or listening to music. The sound bar features up firing speakers helping the sound bounce off the ceiling and making the sound feel more full.

I absolutely love this new sound bar, paired with my OLED TV it makes movie night that much better now. I definitely recommend this sound bar for anyone looking for something beyond an entry level sound bar.

I can’t say how I like the product, because I didn’t test it, since the control panel was not included

This Yamaha sound bar is exactly what you’d expect from Yamaha. It’s got a fantastic sound quality to it. I love that you can control the volume and bass with separate controls. Sometimes, it’s hard to find a balance with sound bars when movies are bass heavy in the action/adventure scenes. It was extremely easy to install – that said my pet peeve is that every new device needs you to install an app on your phone or tablet to complete the WiFi installation and push updates to the system. I did end up putting a black piece of gaffers tape over the subwoofer connection light – it’s incredibly bright. The subwoofer is much larger than my last sound bar – almost like a mini Yamaha amp which is actually pretty cool.