Yamaha NS-SP1600

When getting your start in home theater, the big problem is always that initial investment. You'd love to spend the money some of the enthusiasts spend but that initial expenditure can be tough to swallow (much less get past the spouse). What ends up happening with most of us is what we refer to as a "Frankenstein" system - pieced together from open box sales, garage sales, and hand-me-down equipment. Of course you end up dealing with timbre matching, malfunctioning equipment, and out of date components.

Yamaha has the solution to this problem with their "I can't believe how little this costs" NS-SP1600 home theater speaker package. For only $179.99 (less than may DVD players and every Blu-ray on the market) you can have a full 5.1 speaker package! The tiny 2-way speakers sport a 2.5 inch woofer and a 1/2 inch dome tweeter. The center is the same except for the addition of an additional woofer. Each of the speakers sport a threaded insert for wall mounting, spring clips, and removable grills. The powered sub (a whooping 50 watts) has a single 6.5 inch driver. The Yamaha's Advanced YST/QD Bass Technology is designed to help the output of this subwoofer. The specifications state that the system will play down to 30HZ though that seems a bit generous to us. Needless to say, you won't have to rearrange your pictures after every movie.

Given the speaker's small size and remarkable price, we were pleasantly surprised at the sound quality. Everything was uniform and blended well (which is more than you can hope for at this price point). You'll want to keep this system in a small room and at a reasonable volume or risk overloading the tiny speakers. Other than budding Audioholics, we could see these speaker in a college dorm, kid's room, or as a gift to get someone that is interested in home theater into the hobby.

Entering this hobby can be a daunting task - especially to your wallet. While it is clear that the NS-SP1600 is an entry level system, it has two things in its favor - decent sound and an extremely reasonable price. This is a system that you can enjoy even as you plan your next speaker purchase and not feel guilty when you start to switch the speakers out. Plus they make a great gift to that family member that has been lusting over your system for years. So if you're looking for a way into this hobby, Yamaha is give you a foot up!

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