Yamaha YSP-2500 Sound Bar with Wireless Subwoofer Review

Yamaha YSP-2500 Introduction

 The new Yamaha YSP-2500 retails for $1,000, and sits in the middle of Yamaha’s Sound Projector range. The YSP-2500 features their Digital Sound Projector technology that beams sound off walls for discrete virtual surround channels without extra speakers. In addition, $1,000 nets you a wireless subwoofer, a CD-quality aptX Bluetooth connection, HDMI with audio return channel, HD audio decoding, and an IR repeater on the back of the unit for those setups where the sound bar might block the IR receiver on your display.

 Yamaha YSP-2500 Soundbar Youtube Video Review

The Yamaha YSP-2500 Soundbar and Wireless Subwoofer

First Impressions

The YSP-2500’s main unit features a brushed aluminum cabinet for a high-end look, and measures 37-⅛” wide by 5-⅝” deep by 2-⅞” tall with the adjustable feet (2” without).  The unit weighs just shy of 9 pounds, and can be wall mounted with an optional bracket.  I personally think it would be a little gutsy to wall mount the YSP-2500, as the resulting fixture would appear rather shelf-like and become a potential resting spot for visitor’s drinks.  On the other hand, by the time you mount a display above it, the thickness of the TV mount and display should make the nearly 6” deep Yamaha seem less extruded. 
 
Sixteen 1-⅛” drivers make up the main driver array, and they are driven by an amplifier that produces 27 watts at 4 ohms with 1% distortion and a 1kHz signal. Yamaha’s Sound Projector technology uses this array of small drivers to “beam” sound around the room, bouncing sound waves off the side walls to arrive at your ears from different angles.  This can create the illusion of sound coming from speakers to the sides and behind you, even without a traditional home theater setup and multiple speakers spread throughout the room.

The Yamaha YSP-2500 features a classy brushed aluminum finish.

The included subwoofer is intended to sit in a horizontal or vertical configuration, and measures 5-¾” wide by 17-½” tall and 13-⅞” deep.  It weighs 17.4lbs, and connects simply and wirelessly, though a wired connection is also possible.  The subwoofer features a front-ported design, with two 4” drivers, and a 75 watt amp (5 ohms, 10% distortion, 100Hz signal).  The cabinet is constructed of ½” MDF with moderate bracing; given the small size and modest output, it remained sufficiently inert.  I was able to get a few spy shots by peeling back the amplifier plate and wiggling my cell phone inside, but I couldn’t completely dismantle the subwoofer for a more thorough inspection without fear of damaging the unit.

The Yamaha YSP-2500 Subwoofer internals.

Setup

Setup was very simple.  I unboxed everything, provided power to the main unit and subwoofer, and turned the main unit on.  After a brief moment, the main unit and subwoofer discovered each other, wirelessly linked, and I was ready to playback full-range sound.  Optimizing the system was a simple as connecting the included mic to the front of the unit, setting it at head-position (using the included cardboard tripod if needed) and pressing enter to start the auto-setup routine. 
 
One thing I really appreciate is that Yamaha’s auto-setup gives you 10 seconds after you start the routine before the test tones and measurements begin.  This allows you to leave the room, saving your ears from the grating tones, and preventing you from polluting the measured responses.  When it’s all done, the YSP-2500 plays a loud musical chime to let you know that it’s safe to return. This simple user convenience is much appreciated, and I’d love to see other auto-EQ developers implement a delay and start/finish chime.

The Yamaha YSP-2500 Auto-Setup features a 10-second start delay.

The physical remote is a little busy, but does a good job of assigning individual buttons to specific features to keep the user from having to dig around the menu system.  The volume controls are easy to find by touch alone. Yamaha has also authored a “Home Theater Controller” smartphone app which I tested on Android, though it’s also available for Apple products.  I found this to be one of the better smartphone controller apps that I’ve tried.  A simple start page consists of 6 tiles that are easy to trigger, intuitive, and don’t send you multiple levels deep before you find the function that you’re looking for.  This is the first app I’ve used that could have me permanently mothballing the physical remote.

The Yamaha Home Theater Controller App is well-designed and available for Android and Apple.

Yamaha YSP-2500 Soundbar Listening Tests

The crossover point from the small main drivers to the subwoofer is quite high at approximately 500 Hz per the specs, and confirmed with my SPL meter and test tones. As a result, trying to tuck the sub behind a chair or bed won’t work because the sound is too localizable. In order for lower frequencies to sound like they’re coming from the front of the room, your sub will need to stay in the front of the room.  I recommend either getting the sub as close as possible to the main unit for the best integration, or using a front corner for the most powerful bass response.
 
You may remember from my review of the Yamaha YSP-4300 that I was duly impressed with Yamaha’s Sound Projector technology.  As long as you have a rectangular room with reflective walls, it does a great job of “bouncing” sound from the sides and behind your ears, reproducing discrete surround channels without extra surround speakers in a convincing fashion.  Though the new YSP-2500 is almost half the price, it produces a similarly convincing effect.
 
I tested the YSP-2500 in a few rooms, from a large, open media room to smaller dens and bedrooms.  Generally, the beaming features were rendered useless by open rooms, and large rooms proved too much of a challenge for the smaller sub to produce realistic, dynamic sound.  That said, at moderate volumes in my large room, the YSP-2500 could still produce fuller, cleaner sound than I would expect out of built-in display speakers.  Ideally, for the best surround effect, you should stick to closed, rectangular rooms and smaller spaces like my 12x14 foot bedroom for the most dynamic sound from the small drivers and compact subwoofer.
 
I tested a variety of content including movies like The Wolf of Wall Street which has a lot of atmospheric surround content, and The Dark Knight Rises for more direct surround cues.  For music, I listened to the new album from My Brightest Diamond, This Is My Hand, and Bjork’s Post.  Both are albums that make good use of big stereo effects.

My Brightest Diamond - This Is My Hand

The Yamaha has several available DSP modes labeled, among other things, “Spectacle”, “Talk Show”, and the infamous “Jazz Club.”  I played with these a bit, but mostly left them off.  Instead, I focused on testing the 3 main modes easily access with the buttons at the top of the remote: Stereo, Surround, and Target.
 
In stereo mode, the Yamaha doesn’t utilize any sound-beaming trickery, instead functioning as a traditional 2.1 setup.  However, as the driver array is only 19 inches wide, this approach makes for a very narrow stereo image bordering on mono.  For instance, on “Pressure” from This is My Hand, the xylophone at 30 seconds in typically dances across the front of the room, but in stereo mode was a bit more anchored in the center of the room.  However, synth bass and kick drum were properly weighty and the main unit and corner-loaded sub integrated very well for a full-range sound that dipped down to the quoted 40Hz range of the subwoofer, as confirmed with test tones and an SPL meter. Compared to the other modes, and despite the narrow stage, Stereo mode had the most neutral frequency response to my ears and was my favorite for music listening.
 
In surround mode, the Yamaha fires up its beaming feature to not only replicate side and rear speakers, but also widen the front soundstage.  For instance, in my setup, sending a signal to just the left channel produced a distinct image about halfway between the main unit and the wall itself.  The right channel was also widened, but as I had a wall opening at the right rear, was more diffused and not as distinct.  In a fully closed room, this should not be an issue.  Rear channels were reproduced in a way that varied from diffused to more directional, but definitely didn’t seem like they were coming from the front of the room.  Yamaha again proved that they have one of the best pseudo-surround technologies when it comes to the most authentic aping of a traditional surround system. This was displayed in the numerous crowded office scenes inThe Wolf of Wall Street where the cacophony of the chaotic office environments is nicely translated.

The Yamaha YSP-2500 Digital Sound Projector technology "bounces" sound off walls, replicating discrete surround speakers.

Finally, the Yamaha YSP-2500 offers a “Target mode” where users can aim the beam at a specific location in the room, for instance, keeping sound pointed at a listening seat and away from walls when others in the house might be trying to sleep.  You can also use this feature for extreme off-angle listening to make dialogue more clear.  Be warned, sound in this mode was thin, lacking in bass and some detail, to the extent that I wouldn’t want to use it on a day to day basis.  Kudos to Yamaha for this creative use of their technology to target sound, but, for me, the final product is pretty unlistenable.  You should plan on sticking with one of the previous two modes for the majority of your listening.
 
Once you dial in everything the way that you want it, settings can be saved in one of 3 memory locations, each with its own remote button.  This, for example, allows you to easily switch between a setting optimized for solo listening in your favorite chair, one for group listening across multiple seating locations, and one for beaming sound to a far angle perhaps a corner kitchen.

Yamaha YSP-2500 Sound Bar Conclusion

The odds are good that if you’ve longed for a sound bar that offers an authentic surround experience, you’ve looked at the Yamaha Sound Projector series. The YSP-2500 brings this technology to the popular $1,000 price point without sacrificing the surround effects of its more expensive brethren. It also holds its own in accuracy and dynamic reproduction against similarly compact 2.1 sound bar systems that I’ve heard. Make no mistake, a sound bar cannot produce the same effect that 5 individual speakers could, but if you have a smaller, rectangular room, the Yamaha remains the best surround reproduction you’ll get from a single enclosure.

 Yamaha YSP-2500 Soundbar Youtube Video Review

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Build Quality
Appearance
Treble Extension
Treble Smoothness
Midrange Accuracy
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Imaging
Soundstage
Dynamic Range
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value