Yamaha has a reputation for quality audio products, and it lives up to that reputation with this little zinger of a surround sound system. What's more, the price of the system, combined with its surprisingly good quality, make it a real bargain of a home theater system.
It also offers an AM/FM tuner with 40 pre-set station capability, a sleep timer that will shut the system off automatically after a set amount of time and a 'bass boost' function that lets you really pump up bass vibrations. In addition, there is a headphone jack that you can use for the Silent Cinema feature, which simulates 5.1-channel listening; this feature customizes audio output to optimize the sound you can get through standard headphones.
The contemporary silver gray speaker system includes four satellite speakers, a triple-woofer center speaker, and a 50-watt subwoofer. All five speakers plug into the back of the subwoofer, which also doubles as the amp.
Setup is simple; there's nothing noteworthy to speak of there. The receiver supports composite or s-video cables, and there is room to plug all of your components into the receiver, including a television, VCR and computer.
I tested the system with several movies, including The Matrix, The Gladiator, The Two Towers and Minority Report. (Can you tell I'm a sci-fi fantasy fan, or what?) The sound was rich, full and realistic with every one of them. The sound met movie theater standards and in some cases even surpassed what you would hear at the cinema.
Remember the scene in the Matrix where Neo and Trinity go into the federal building to rescue Morpheus -- the one with all the bullets flying everywhere? Unbelievable! Watching these movies on my 50" HDTV screen with this Yamaha surround sound system was absolute heaven.
If you're worried about the system outputting only 35-watts, don't. This little system really packs a punch. Unless you have a monstrous sized room, this system has all the power you need.
I have to admit that learning how to use the remote was a bit of a challenge though. There are just so many functions available with this model that it's a little intimidating trying to figure them all out. The instruction manual does a decent job of outlining the various features and how to use them, but could use some improvement in terms of usability and readability.
This may seem trivial, but the design of the remote leaves something to be desired, too. It's just a boring looking rectangular remote. And it's got tiny buttons that are hard to read, particularly when you're watching a movie in a dimly lit room!
Overall though, this surround sound system offers a lot of bang for the buck. It could definitely compete with many $1,000 to $2,000 home theater systems with no problem at all.
