I searched for an AVS thread on this new product, but couldn't find anything. I'll start one!

http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/ts/ces/2005/ps/YamahaYSP1c_01_300.gif

Single unit housing 42 drivers
Can deliver five-channel sound in Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II
Bounces sound off the walls to create the illusion of discretely-placed speakers
Subwoofer out connector
U.S. release in March 2005, with an MSRP of $1500

What do the rest of you home theater enthusiasts think of this product? I know having separate speakers would be better, but apparently this thing works pretty well, according to those who have heard it. It could be a good solution for certain rooms.

External links
http://www.cnet.com/4520-10602_1-5618866-1.html?tag=hot
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/audio/yamaha-ysp1-digital-sound-projector-025818.php
http://www.google.com/search?q=yamaha+ysp-1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Sounds like an expired Bose Patent.

M&K has something like that too.
http://www.mksound.com/mp4512.htm

Hi
I had a chance to get a demo of this at CES
It was acually pretty good I would say that it would be a great product to spec into a condo,apartment,bedroom or cabin
Ray

I am considering this because it will work well in my appartment where drilling holes and pulling carpet is frowned appon to setup speakers..... don't understand why though. ;)

I just saw this unit at my local dealer, but did not get a chance to hear it since it wasn't setup. It was smaller than I expected it to be.

Originally posted by noodleNT
I am considering this because it will work well in my appartment where drilling holes and pulling carpet is frowned appon to setup speakers

Do you already have a dolby digital amp/receiver? If you did, I don't even think you can use it with the Yamaha. I think you plug the digital output from the DVD right into the Yamaha.

Anyone know for sure?

Originally posted by curtisf
I just saw this unit at my local dealer, but did not get a chance to hear it since it wasn't setup. It was smaller than I expected it to be.

Where did you get to see it? I thought it was not coming out until March. The dimensions I saw on it said it was about 40" wide, 7" high, and 4 or 5" deep.

YSP1 is now available from B&H for $1300 and OneCall even running $50 promotion. We need a review!!!
Alexander

According to Yamaha, certain dealers in the country got small shipments. The nationwide release is scheduled for March. I think they are ramping up production, because it is selling so well in other parts of the world. I saw the unit at Mateo HiFi in San Mateo, CA.

Originally posted by DJ_V
Do you already have a dolby digital amp/receiver? If you did, I don't even think you can use it with the Yamaha. I think you plug the digital output from the DVD right into the Yamaha.

Anyone know for sure?

It takes the place of a reciever in a simple system (has 2 optical, 1 coax and an analog audio input - 4 total). If you use it in unison with an existing rec, then you will need a digital preout, or run your digital audio sources to this instead. This unit works very, very well - can be setup effectively for those annoying corner mount TV locations, or on any wall. The setup GUI is foolproof, almost setting itself up as you walk through the step by step menus. Takes about 5 or 10 minutes and presto!; you got 5.1 from a single speaker and the sub of your choice. This is a very nice setup for the money, as it replaces 5 speakers, a reciever, and takes almost no install time. Sounds pretty friggin good too. We're just starting to handle this product and I'm looking forward to using it in our simpler family room and master bedroom systems. Solves a LOT of problems! ;)

It may sound pretty good (or bad), but it cannot reproduce true surround sound any more than headphones can. Using delays and "bouncing" sound off of walls may give you the illusion of surround sound, but at best will give you the equivilent of the old Dolby Surround format.

Originally posted by Karp
It may sound pretty good (or bad), but it cannot reproduce true surround sound any more than headphones can. Using delays and "bouncing" sound off of walls may give you the illusion of surround sound, but at best will give you the equivilent of the old Dolby Surround format.

While I generally agree with your premise, the net result of this system is significantly better than plain ol' dolby analog surround. Note that nowhere did I say that it would rival a properly set up 5.1 system, but rather that it solves a lot of installation and budget problems with very, very little compromise, considering...
Don't discount the value of this setup under the conditions it was designed for 'till you've heard it in action. ;)

You could do the same thing with technology from this company:

http://www.atcsd.com/

and it actually has some pretty cool science around it. The sound is produced in nearly the same way holograms are created with light.

Cool stuff

I believe YSP-1 is a phased array system like Pioneer Sound Projector. I remember Pioneer one had a calibration system with microphone inside, to measure the the roon reflection to form right reflection for surround effect. Is it same to YSP-1?

I just received my YSP-1, and my first impression is positive. It took about 10min to setup using the "easy" method. You need to tell it the room type and predefined sizes, but it will allow you to to adjust all of the parameters manually if you have odd shaped rooms. One word to describe this unit is "amazing". The soundstage is wide and the sound does really appear to come from behind you. It is hard to believe that the sound is coming from 40 1.5" speakers with 2watt amps behind each of them! If this thing was priced at $800, it would fly off the shelves.

Originally posted by curtisf
.....If this thing was priced at $800, it would fly off the shelves.

If people figure out just how well this thing works, it'll fly off the shelves anyway - it's not very expensive for what it is and what it's designed for. Remember, the Pioneer version of this thing sells for $40,000!! The technology was licensed from Yamaha, and the Pioneer only worked for about 1 or 2 hours at the last CEDIA show. That oughta tell you something.... ;)

hm i reckon it'd sound pretty terrible up loud

Originally posted by Karp
It may sound pretty good (or bad), but it cannot reproduce true surround sound any more than headphones can. Using delays and "bouncing" sound off of walls may give you the illusion of surround sound, but at best will give you the equivilent of the old Dolby Surround format.

I had been agreeing on this kind of claims, but now I can't any more. During the CES, I auditioned a technology from Smyth Research, which tries to measure and equalize the response in your very ears with tiny microphones. The reference was your HT's sound, and the headphone was eqaulized using the "personalized" HRTF derived from 2 measurements (from your HT's, and from your headphones). I couldn't tell the difference AT ALL between HT sound and headphone sound in rear/back!!

Actually, this type of phased arrays have more difficulties to generate full surrounds than the headphone - simply far more variables than headphones! But I'd now believe that phased array or maybe even a pair of traditional speakers can generate full surround effect with "personalization".

Originally posted by bamputin
hm i reckon it'd sound pretty terrible up loud

Does anyone have an answer to this? I heard it at CES and was amazed at the surround sound reproduction and ordered mine which will be in about a week. I am just hoping that it will keep up with those times that you really want to crank it.

Originally posted by curtisf
If this thing was priced at $800, it would fly off the shelves.

I'm with you on that one. If it was anywhere under $1k I would purchase it without a doubt. Do you have any pics of your installation??

Originally posted by azhelkov
YSP1 is now available from B&H for $1300 and OneCall even running $50 promotion. We need a review!!!
Alexander

Just checked B&H. Clicked on the "Email me a better price" link and they sent me a price of $1100. Still out of stock though....

Originally posted by curtisf
I just received my YSP-1, and my first impression is positive. It took about 10min to setup using the "easy" method. You need to tell it the room type and predefined sizes, but it will allow you to to adjust all of the parameters manually if you have odd shaped rooms. One word to describe this unit is "amazing". The soundstage is wide and the sound does really appear to come from behind you. It is hard to believe that the sound is coming from 40 1.5" speakers with 2watt amps behind each of them! If this thing was priced at $800, it would fly off the shelves.

curtissf,

It would be great if you could post more details about this. Some questions I would have:

1.) How does it work at the extremes of volume settings, both soft and loud?
2.) How natural is dialogue over this speaker and what happens with dialogue pans as an actor is speaking while moving across the screen?
3.) What happens with the highs? Yamaha has a bit of a reputation for "sizzling" highs; how neutral is the tonal balance and what controls are offered to modify response?
4.) What is music listening like (see 3# above)
5.) Finally, what control do you have over the "surround" effect? For example, if you're listening to music and you want to "collapse" the soundfield down to a more "stereo" effect, can this be easily done by a button push (as opposed to going back into a setup menu)?

Thanks (in advance) for your help...

1.) How does it work at the extremes of volume settings, both soft and loud?
The unit has a "night" mode that works pretty well. As for loudness, at 50% volume, it is really loud for my room and it still sounds pretty good. I listen about 30% volume.

2.) How natural is dialogue over this speaker and what happens with dialogue pans as an actor is speaking while moving across the screen?
The dialogue is pretty clean and will pan across the virtual front speakers. It isn't as natural as my Von Schweikert center, but it is pretty darn good.

3.) What happens with the highs? Yamaha has a bit of a reputation for "sizzling" highs; how neutral is the tonal balance and what controls are offered to modify response?
I haven't noticed the "sizzling" highs yet. The unit allows you to adjust the tonal balance for 8 different "beams".

4.) What is music listening like (see 3# above)
Haven't done much with this, but from what I heard, my main stereo system (with Meadowlark speakers) sounds a lot better.

5.) Finally, what control do you have over the "surround" effect? For example, if you're listening to music and you want to "collapse" the soundfield down to a more "stereo" effect, can this be easily done by a button push (as opposed to going back into a setup menu)?
It is as easy as a button push. There is a "surround" button which cycles through the different DD and DTS modes. There are "beam" buttons which allow you to select the 2, 3, 4 or 5 sound "beam" modes.

BTW, the Yamaha website doesn't list B&H Photo as an authorized dealer, so you might not get the warranty if you buy from them. I got my unit from OneCall which is listed on the Yamaha site.

curtisf,

Thanks for answering my questions; this helps a great deal. I have a Qualia 006; with my equipment on the stand there's almost (but not quite) enough room for the YSP-1. I was thinking of mounting it on the wall above and behind the display, but am not keen on running a bundle of wires in this application. I plan to install the set in a custom cabinet, which should solve this dilemma...

curtisf,
Are you using a sub with your setup?

I am using a M&K sub with my YSP. I have the xover set to 100MHz.

Got mine today! I just got done running through the entire Episode One DVD to test volume levels, and I could get it to clip, but that was at a far higher volume level than I would normally listen.

The surround performance of this thing is just amazing, and it has better dialog performance than most center channels that I've heard.

Audio performace in "2 beam" (2 channel) mode was about on par with a receiver running an inexpensive pair of quality bookshelves.

It's definitely not for a high-end theater room, but for a house like mine where I have to put my system in the family room, and pass the WAF, It is a truly wonderful option.

I got mine yesterday. It is worth the $1300 I paid. I am downsizing from big tower speakers, and this unit sounds very good with a subwoofer. It is great for getting rid of all those speakers and wires in my apartment living room. It fits nicely on my LCD projection TV, since the base is very shallow. I just wish it had a FM tuner and a better manual with some pictures.

I would think that this woukd be a no-brainer for bedroom theater and dorms (excepting meatheads that would throttle it)...
I was impressed with what I have read, and I think it might excel in some of these applications.

PS. That M&K thing is laughable, I heard it at CEDIA and had to restrain myself from cracking up in front of some devoted dealers that were trying to justify it's existance.

Originally posted by Rockhound
Got mine today! I just got done running through the entire Episode One DVD to test volume levels, and I could get it to clip, but that was at a far higher volume level than I would normally listen.

The surround performance of this thing is just amazing, and it has better dialog performance than most center channels that I've heard.

Audio performace in "2 beam" (2 channel) mode was about on par with a receiver running an inexpensive pair of quality bookshelves.

It's definitely not for a high-end theater room, but for a house like mine where I have to put my system in the family room, and pass the WAF, It is a truly wonderful option.

You were concerned earlier about how loud this little guy would get. Now that you've got it installed and running, have you noticed that it'll get plenty loud?! ;)

Not a bad little box, eh?

I'm contemplating the purchase of a YSP1, but...

I have a weird living room situation where there are walls to the left, back, and front of the viewing area, but the first wall to the right of the viewing area is about 3x further away than the other walls (basically there's a living room, then a dining room that all share one big space). Does anyone think that the YSP1 could be tuned to deliver decent surround sound in a space like that? All of the diagrams that I've seen explaining how the technology works have me worried that this device really would only work in a room where the listening area is approximately centered (left-to-right) from the walls.

Any thoughts?

Originally posted by pstrauss
I'm contemplating the purchase of a YSP1, but...

I have a weird living room situation where there are walls to the left, back, and front of the viewing area, but the first wall to the right of the viewing area is about 3x further away than the other walls (basically there's a living room, then a dining room that all share one big space). Does anyone think that the YSP1 could be tuned to deliver decent surround sound in a space like that? All of the diagrams that I've seen explaining how the technology works have me worried that this device really would only work in a room where the listening area is approximately centered (left-to-right) from the walls.

Any thoughts?

I don't think that this will be a problem since the YSP lets you set the length of each wall independantly. I have a unit but haven't installed it yet, but from the docs it appears that this is doable. Perhaps someone with an installed unit can clarify.

I've attached a diagram of the room to better illustrate what I'm talking about. I suspect that since the right hand wall is so far away from the listening area that it wouldn't work unless the sound reflection could be focused onto the short stretch of closet wall next to my viewing area.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone out there if there's a way to make the YST1 work well in such an environment.

Here's some interesting info I found in the manual PDF:

This unit creates surround sound by reflecting projected sound beams off the walls of your listening room. The surround
sound effects produced by this unit may not be sufficient when the unit is installed in the following locations:
• Rooms with surfaces inadequate for reflecting sound beams
• Rooms with acoustically absorbent surfaces
• Rooms with measurements outside the range: (3 to 7 m) × (2 to 3.5 m) × (3 to 7 m) (W × H × D)
• Rooms with less than 2 m from the listening position to the speaker positions
• Rooms where objects such as furniture are likely to obstruct the path of sound beams

The manual also shows a setting called that allows for the speaker to be off center in the room.

So, I suppose that as long as the total dimensions of the room don't exceed 7mx7m (appx 21ftx21ft), I'd be okay.

It's also cool that the speaker can be adjusted to work anywhere from 0m to 3m from the ground. I was wondering if I could place it on the floor, rather than wall mount it.

You can look at the entire manual Here (http://www.yamaha-hifi.com/products.php?lang=e&country=DE&idcat1=1&idcat2=50&idcat3=89&idprod=1218&archivset=&newsset=).

(Click on the "Operating Manuals" link on the right)

Originally posted by pstrauss
.......unless the sound reflection could be focused onto the short stretch of closet wall next to my viewing area.


Yes, you can focus it on that closet wall next to the seating area.... and rather effectively, I might add! I don't see this as any problem at all. The alignment procedure is quick and easy to shift the focus back to that closet wall until you're satisfied with the result. You can actually hear the "movement" of the surround channel being adjusted real time, as you shift the channel around. Obviously, you'll suddenly hear the channel "pop" on as it finnally hits the wall properly. Then adjust gain accordingly. You'll probably want to shift the left surround back equally so the rears sound balanced.

Originally posted by pstrauss


It's also cool that the speaker can be adjusted to work anywhere from 0m to 3m from the ground. I was wondering if I could place it on the floor, rather than wall mount it.



You could, but I wouldn't, because that introduces other room boundry acoustic effects that might be undesirable. It would tend to muddy up the sound a bit.

We'll I went ahead and ordered mine tonight. I went ahead and ordered from B&H (great deal) since I've had excellent service and support when I ordered from them before.

I'll report back once I get it all set up later in the week.

Originally posted by pstrauss
I'm contemplating the purchase of a YSP1, but...

I have a weird living room situation where there are walls to the left, back, and front of the viewing area, but the first wall to the right of the viewing area is about 3x further away than the other walls (basically there's a living room, then a dining room that all share one big space). Does anyone think that the YSP1 could be tuned to deliver decent surround sound in a space like that? All of the diagrams that I've seen explaining how the technology works have me worried that this device really would only work in a room where the listening area is approximately centered (left-to-right) from the walls.

Any thoughts?

pstrauss,

From the looks of the diagram, you should be just fine. We have two units out there now. At my house (shaped very similiar to yours) I had great success. In the second home, the wall that was missing was the back wall, and we had a helluva time getting proper rear surround sound. Since there was no rear wall reflection, I couldn't get the surround sound any futher back than directly to the left and right of the listening postiion. The client still liked it, so all is good, but I would say that a rear wall is a priority for this speaker.

Mike

Originally posted by M NEWMAN
You were concerned earlier about how loud this little guy would get. Now that you've got it installed and running, have you noticed that it'll get plenty loud?! ;)

Not a bad little box, eh?

M NEWMAN,

You were right, the YSP1 is definitely loud enough for exciting, high-impact movie watching. I demo chapter 7 of "Air Force One" for my buddies and they are absolutely blown away at what this speaker will do. I just added a James Cinema 15 subwoofer, and the package just amazes me, and I've been doing this for a long time....

Mike

This sounds (no pun intended) exactly what I need cuz the wife hates all the wires around the TV even with the surrounds. This will make life simple for both of us since it eliminates the receiver.

But I have a question about the mounting options it has. My TV is a Panansonic TH-42PD25U on its bundled stand on a TV stand in the corner of the room. I don't think I can place it on the TV stand in front of the plasma since it will block the screen. Any suggestion on how I can place it?

I have a 42" Plasma (Vizio P42HDe) on a tabletop as well, and I plan on having to raise the tv to mount the YSP-1 when I get it. The bottom of the TV is about 4 inches from the tabletop, and the YSP-1 is about 7-1/2" tall, which would block the TV.

My current plan is to just build a shelf that's only as deep as the tv's stand and raise it up an additional 4 inches so the speaker sits directly in front of and below the tv screen. I figure I could just buy some MDF and some 2x4s on edge to build this platform, and paint it black to match my stand. Should cost all of about $15 or $20, and it will be hidden by the speaker anyhow, so it doesn't need to be too pretty.

One other option is to stack my plasma tv on a low riser table on top of my current table. I saw this one (http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=10928&langId=-1&parentCats=10104*10174) at Ikea , but it's still a little tall (10-3/4"), so I don't know if that will be too high for my taste.

I guess wall mounting would be ideal for this, but I don't want to deal with trying to get all of my wiring into the wall at this point.

I'll let you know what I end up doing.

Would like to know if anyone purchased the wall mount? How much and from where? Thanks.

If you live in or are visiting Tokyo - this is setup at the Bic Camera in Yurakucho (one stop from Tokyo station on the Yamanote line).

They have it mounted on the wall below a 42" LCD - looks nice.

To complete the display there are 2 "fake" walls on the left and right side about 1.5 meters apart.

The sound imaging (to me) was excellent, I just stood there in awe for 10 minutes while different clips played.

I'll be picking this up for my new house (completed in Dec 2005) as it solves the wiring issues that others have mentioned, and doesn't require me to have speakers in the ceiling, or on the wall to ruin the aesthetics of the living room.

Geno

Originally posted by pstrauss
I have a 42" Plasma (Vizio P42HDe) on a tabletop as well, and I plan on having to raise the tv to mount the YSP-1 when I get it. The bottom of the TV is about 4 inches from the tabletop, and the YSP-1 is about 7-1/2" tall, which would block the TV.

My current plan is to just build a shelf that's only as deep as the tv's stand and raise it up an additional 4 inches so the speaker sits directly in front of and below the tv screen. I figure I could just buy some MDF and some 2x4s on edge to build this platform, and paint it black to match my stand. Should cost all of about $15 or $20, and it will be hidden by the speaker anyhow, so it doesn't need to be too pretty.

One other option is to stack my plasma tv on a low riser table on top of my current table. I saw this one (http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10101&storeId=12&productId=10928&langId=-1&parentCats=10104*10174) at Ikea , but it's still a little tall (10-3/4"), so I don't know if that will be too high for my taste.

I guess wall mounting would be ideal for this, but I don't want to deal with trying to get all of my wiring into the wall at this point.

I'll let you know what I end up doing.

Well I went to Home Depot tonight, and ended up throwing together a shelf that raises the plasma screen about 4 inches higher than it was. I used some really nice 1x4 high quality red oak turned on edge for the frame, and a 12" red oak stair tread for the lid of the platform, so I should have no problem with the weight of the tv. Then I painted the whole thing with Rustoleum semi-gloss black to match my other semi-gloss black wood media furniture. Total cost: $40. Total time to build: 45 minutes.

I expect to get the YSP-1 delivered tomorrow, and I'll post pictures of it in place once I get it all set up.

Are any of the chain stores carrying this one yet? CC, BB, UE, etc? I'd love to audition one somewhere.

Haven't seen em in any chain store yet. I doubt that they'd set it up properly even if they did have one.

I will post a report when I get mine set up (it just arrived - nice big box!)

Well I got my YSP-1 yesterday, and got it all hooked up. Here are my opinions feelings so far (in no particular order):

>On Dolby Digital and DTS encoded sources, Sound quality is excellent. 5.1 separation is pretty good, but localization of sounds is not as distinct as a dedicated speaker/receiver setup. I think part of this could be due to my odd shaped listening environment. In general, movie sources sound better than most HTiB's and small systems that I've heard.

>It's really amazing to be able to play with the locations of the virtual "speakers". My favorite feature is that you can make it sound like the dialog channel is actually BEHIND the screen. This is a real boon to those of us with non-projection environments.

>On sources such as digital or analog stereo TV and analog music sources (i.e. an iPod in my setup), sound is pretty good, but not as rich and full as a pair of decent bookshelf speakers hooked up to a decent receiver (I previously had a pair of Klipsch Synergy SB-1s hooked up to a Pioneer VSX-814K).

>"Center" channel sound is excellent, and dialog is very clear even at very low volume levels. I didn't even need to use the dynamic range compression "Night" mode for this. I do have to say that the center lacks a little at conveying the lower tones in voices (especially on non 5.1 source material), but I'll take that trade-off for clear dialog. I'm guessing that playing with the equalization might help. (BTW: you can independently adjust Bass and Treble for each virtual "speaker" - sweet)

>This puppy can get incredibly loud without distorting. I couldn't get it to clip at any volume level short of ear-bleed. That said, a subwoofer is a must if you want anything resembling true bass or LFE. I added on an inexpensive Infinity 8" model, and it sounds great.

>I have a non-standard listening environment (i.e. no right hand wall near the listening area, and a back wall with lots of jogs in it and some furniture there - see earlier post). It was a little difficult to get the sound "beams" calibrated given this situation, and I'm still not completely satisfied. I was able to get pretty good surround imaging, but I'm still struggling with getting the Right Front channel localized. It still seems a little vague in its location (like an out-of-phase speaker). Part of the difficulty with setup seems to be that the pink test noise is a little hard to pinpoint for my ears. I'd love to have some fixed frequency test tones instead, as I think that would allow me to adjust the beam locations with greater precision.

>The setup screens on the OSD are EXTREMELY HIGH CONTRAST (white text on bright blue background), and are static. I hate leaving these up on my plasma screen while tweaking, as I'm afraid they might burn in. Unfortunately, all of the fine-tuning settings are only accessible through the OSD. I think this is a problem with many receivers, so it's really not the fault of Yamaha. I just wish more manufacturers would recognize this as an issue, and think of ways to reduce that risk with equipment that's very likely to be hooked up to a plasma tv. I guess the best solution would be to buy a crappy little portable monitor, and hook it up to that for tuning.

> It's physically imposing. You definitely need a substantial surface to mount it on. In my environment, it's on a tabletop in front of the plasma tv. I'm really considering wall mounting everything now to give things a cleaner look. I wish that a black grill would be offered as an option. My TV and furniture are all black, so this would be a nice option, and would make it less imposing. Perhaps Yamaha will offer this as an accessory at some point.

>The "sweet spot" for the virtual surround channel is definitely wider than other systems I've seen. From all three cushions of my sofa, the effect is quite good. I have another chair that's way off center in the room, and it even gets some of the surround effect.

In general, despite my minor criticisms, I'm pleased so far. I still need to work out some of the weird acoustics in my room, and you'll definitely will want to tweak your setup beyond the "automatic" beam settings, unless you have a perfectly square or rectangular room with no substantial irregularities.

P.S. If anyone has any ideas on the best way to tune that front right channel for an environment with a right wall that's very far away (when compared to the right wall at the back of the environment), let me know.

Originally posted by pstrauss

>The setup screens on the OSD are EXTREMELY HIGH CONTRAST (white text on bright blue background), and are static. I hate leaving these up on my plasma screen while tweaking, as I'm afraid they might burn in.

Nothing stopping you from turning the contrast and brightness waayyyyy down while making adjustments... ;) Standard procedure for extended static images.



Originally posted by pstrauss

P.S. If anyone has any ideas on the best way to tune that front right channel for an environment with a right wall that's very far away (when compared to the right wall at the back of the environment), let me know.

I'd recommend putting some large piece of furniture (with large panel facing the Yammy) for the right front phantom speaker to bounce off of. This should clear up the last bit of vagueness in that channel. If you don't have any kind of furniture that will do this, just make something decorative that'll fit your decor.

Originally posted by pstrauss
>The setup screens on the OSD are EXTREMELY HIGH CONTRAST (white text on bright blue background), and are static.

I was looking through the manual yesterday and noticed that you could change the background from Blue to Grey in the advanced menu options. It's on page 45 of the manual, "OSD Back Color"

The wife won't let me get a YSP-1 yet so I have to resort to reading the manual and daydreaming.

-Alan

Thanks for the ideas. Nothing like a bit of common sense.

While you're doling out advice, I figure I'd ask:

-How tall do you think the piece of furniture would need to be if the Yamaha is about 2ft up off the ground to reflect this channel properly to a listener about 9ft away from the speaker and sitting on a normal height couch?

-I'm still a little stymied by what width and length I should say my room is. The back wall has two sections (left and right) that are further away than the center section of the wall because of entrances to the staircases in my house (the center part of the wall is about 4 feet closer to the front of the room than the other sections). Should I set the room depth to the nearer or farther point, or split the difference?

Originally posted by aorbeta11
I was looking through the manual yesterday and noticed that you could change the background from Blue to Grey in the advanced menu options. It's on page 45 of the manual, "OSD Back Color"

The wife won't let me get a YSP-1 yet so I have to resort to reading the manual and daydreaming.

-Alan

I totally missed that. Thanks for the catch -- I think that might help.

Originally posted by aorbeta11
I was looking through the manual yesterday and noticed that you could change the background from Blue to Grey in the advanced menu options. It's on page 45 of the manual, "OSD Back Color"

The wife won't let me get a YSP-1 yet so I have to resort to reading the manual and daydreaming.

-Alan

You ask your wife? I usually just buy and prepare for the fallout when I get the box home.

Originally posted by pstrauss
You ask your wife? I usually just buy and prepare for the fallout when I get the box home.

A perfect example of "it is better to beg forgiveness than ask for permission"!

Originally posted by pstrauss
You ask your wife? I usually just buy and prepare for the fallout when I get the box home.

I did that with the plasma. She says I have to choose between my golf habit and my HT habit. I might take both :)

I'm still a little put off by the silver grill on my YSP-1 as I find it a little distracting underneath my screen. Since it doesn't look like Yamaha offers a black grill at this point, I was wondering if I could put black grill cloth like this (http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/products/fabrics/grille_cloth.asp) over the existing metal grill without negatively impacting the sound quality or surround effect.

Does anyone have an opinion on adding a layer of grill cloth over an existing metal grill?

No problem at all. ;) But you can most likely get a nice fabric piece from Hancock fabrics locally for cheap. Just be sure that you can see light through it when you hold it over your head - that should be plenty acoustically transparent. If you can't see light (the more the better, by the way) then it'll kill highs.

You don't think that'll have an impact on the surround effect given the unconventional nature of the YSP-1? I guess I could just buy the cloth and drape it over the front first to make sure it's okay before I go through the trouble of installing it.

Originally posted by M NEWMAN
No problem at all. ;) But you can most likely get a nice fabric piece from Hancock fabrics locally for cheap. Just be sure that you can see light through it when you hold it over your head - that should be plenty acoustically transparent. If you can't see light (the more the better, by the way) then it'll kill highs.

Well...
I cannot figure out how to install fabric over the existing metal grille on the YSP-1. I had planned on mounting the fabric by stretching it under the plates that hold the permanent metal grille in place, but unfortunately, only the plates that hold the top of the speaker grill on are easily removable. From everything I can tell, you have to start disassembling the controls in the base of the unit to get access to the bottom of the grille. I don't suppose anyone had dared to see what happens if you start removing screws on the bottom of the YSP-1? I still think it's stupid that every other speaker grill I've ever had is black, and Yamaha opted to go with an unremovable silver grille. Even in a darkened room, when in such close proximity to the screen, it is quite distracting.

Anyone have any other ideas of a non-invasive way to wrap the speaker grille with black fabric? I suppose I could build a wooden enclosure that's open on the back, and covered with fabric on the front -- that's about the only thing I could think of.

I am going to paint mine black, so I will let you know once I tear into it.

Mike

Originally posted by pstrauss
Here's some interesting info I found in the manual PDF:

This unit creates surround sound by reflecting projected sound beams off the walls of your listening room. The surround
sound effects produced by this unit may not be sufficient when the unit is installed in the following locations:
...
• Rooms with measurements outside the range: (3 to 7 m) × (2 to 3.5 m) × (3 to 7 m) (W × H × D)
...

Well, I am very interested in this unit... at least I was until I saw this particular piece of information. Besides having an odd shaped room - including a partial wall - where potentially the YSP-1 would go, the ceiling is about 18 ft. high and thus way beyond the height limits of 3.5m above. Even if I place the YSP-1 relatively low (about 2 ft. off the ground), am I basically out of luck here?

- Stu

This unit was demoed at CES in a room Yamaha built without a roof and it sounded fantastic to the guys over at audioholics. Check out their review.

Originally posted by pstrauss


Anyone have any other ideas of a non-invasive way to wrap the speaker grille with black fabric? I suppose I could build a wooden enclosure that's open on the back, and covered with fabric on the front -- that's about the only thing I could think of.


Hmmm.....maybe a glue applied with a roller? Otherwise, at this point, I'd probably just use a fine roller (barely wet so it won't splatter) and black paint over the existing grill. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but I think it'll work out ok if you tape off carefully anything you don't want painted. ;)

Dood, use 3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=340-255

Originally posted by M NEWMAN
Hmmm.....maybe a glue applied with a roller? Otherwise, at this point, I'd probably just use a fine roller (barely wet so it won't splatter) and black paint over the existing grill. Maybe not the most elegant solution, but I think it'll work out ok if you tape off carefully anything you don't want painted. ;)

Paint would work if I were willing to be a little more adventurous. I'm thinking I'm just gonna get a different piece of furniture that will allow me to place the speaker a little lower than the current location that it's in. right now it's basically right at the bottom of the screen, and that's what bothers me.

I hate to start painting it, since every piece of tech gear I buy eventually ends up on eBay (once I've tired of it), and I like to leave things as close to factory spec as possible.

Thanks for the ideas.

i have a 7.1 speaker setup. paradigms studio 100s and 2 subs. can this project 7.1? how does the sound compare with reference speakers such as the paradigms?
seems way cool!

Has the Audioholics review influenced anyone to give up their current setup? This system sounds extremely interesting. If it is close to the performance of my PSBs for video sound, then I would be willing to go this route.

Ericglo

I'm not giving up my current setup in my theater just yet. But I'd definitely consider this as an alternative to upgrading the components in my livingroom, which is used for more casual TV watching, the occasional movie, and listening to music.

Originally posted by Ericglo
Has the Audioholics review influenced anyone to give up their current setup? This system sounds extremely interesting. If it is close to the performance of my PSBs for video sound, then I would be willing to go this route.

Ericglo

Eric (and others), while this component sounds amazingly good and works suprisingly well for what it is, it is NOT a replacement for an existing, good quality 5 or 7.1 system. The purpose of this box is to provide an effective solution for those wanting to get really good surround in an environment that was previously not conducive to running wires or adding speakers - like upgrading a stereo Family room setup, or maybe a stereo Master bedroom to full surround by merely adding one box. For this purpose, it works swimmingly... :D

Would you need (or would you recommend) using a powered sub woofer with the YSP-1?

The reviews say that a sub is required.

Basedon reasding the reviews it would seem to me that this could be more viable than a 5 speaker system. Especially when most 5 speaker systems including mine have compromises and sweet spots that are not overly large.

I have a well integrated 5 speaker system but I am looking for a magic bullet that can work in an odd space. The problem with buying any speakers is that you can NEVER tell how they will sound in your environment.

M NEWMAN,
I respect your opinion on this subject. I realize that having a Stratus surround system will probably outperform this system. My problem is I am renting right now and if I stay in this house, then the Gold's take up to much room. My room is very narrow and the front door opens where the left speaker is located. I was hoping that this would provide me room as well as a clean install.


Ericglo

Originally posted by IUnknown
The reviews say that a sub is required.

Basedon reasding the reviews it would seem to me that this could be more viable than a 5 speaker system. Especially when most 5 speaker systems including mine have compromises and sweet spots that are not overly large.

I have a well integrated 5 speaker system but I am looking for a magic bullet that can work in an odd space. The problem with buying any speakers is that you can NEVER tell how they will sound in your environment.

I've got the YSP-1 with a small Infinity PS-8 powered subwoofer, and I'm very pleased, especially with Dolby Digital and DTS sources. I'd say that a good powered subwoofer is a must for any content with LFE, so if you plan on watching movies with the YSP-1, then pick up a sub.

Originally posted by Ericglo
M NEWMAN,
I respect your opinion on this subject. I realize that having a Stratus surround system will probably outperform this system. My problem is I am renting right now and if I stay in this house, then the Gold's take up to much room. My room is very narrow and the front door opens where the left speaker is located. I was hoping that this would provide me room as well as a clean install.


Ericglo

A rental scenario is the perfect environment for this system. I'd definitely recommend it for you. Moving a huge pile of boxes is a PIA, and when you rent, you also have to move. :(
Also, yes a sub is required for the LFE channel. ;)

Originally posted by pstrauss
I've attached a diagram of the room to better illustrate what I'm talking about. I suspect that since the right hand wall is so far away from the listening area that it wouldn't work unless the sound reflection could be focused onto the short stretch of closet wall next to my viewing area.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone out there if there's a way to make the YST1 work well in such an environment.


PStrauss:

I have a similar room, although at the front-right of my room there is a wall on the right side (parallel to the left wall) that extends about 4-5 feet from the rear wall into the room. I'm hoping that will help out with the sound reflections.

I am considering getting the YSP-1, when B&H has it back in stock. I was hoping to eventually upgrade to a 7.1 system, but the YSP-1 will probably be better than what I'd be willing to afford in a 7.1 system (and maybe in a couple of years there will be a 7.1-equivalent upgrade). And I'm sure it will blow away my old Bose bookshelves (yeah yeah I know... I've had them for years and I've just always had other spending priorities, such as projectors).

My question is: How well can you hear the sound when you are in the Dining Room? I have a pool table in the approximate location of your Dining Room/Closet, and I often like to watch TV or listen to music while playing pool.

And just how bad is the music with this system? If it's no good then I won't bother, but if it's better than my Bose 301s I'll go for it.

Originally posted by JKlenk
My question is: How well can you hear the sound when you are in the Dining Room? I have a pool table in the approximate location of your Dining Room/Closet, and I often like to watch TV or listen to music while playing pool.

And just how bad is the music with this system? If it's no good then I won't bother, but if it's better than my Bose 301s I'll go for it. [/B]

Answer #1>> If I crank up the volume just a little, the sound in the dining room is as good as the bookshelf system I previously had in place. That said, you won't get any surround effects if you're not in the primary listening area.

Answer #2>> This is totally subjective: When I first set up the system, I wasn't thrilled with the music performance (see my early impressions posting a couple pages back), but after tweaking and tuning the system, I find the system is quite accurate for music reproduction, with two caveats: 1) A subwoofer is a must for the full impact of low frequencies (i.e. bass, piano, drums); 2) You'll also want to put the system into Pro-Logic II:Music or DTS Neo:Music mode for ideal separation on music. The DPL II:Music (in panorama mode) is my favorite for this. The system also allows you full control of the center width in this mode, so you can decide how far you want vocals to spread out from the center channel. Having experienced the sound of Bose 301s, I think you'll be pleased with the quality of the YSP-1+subwoofer for music sources, especially given its diverse capabilities for movie listening.

Originally posted by pstrauss
Answer #1
....
Answer #2

Thanks! I think I'll give it a try. Too bad I can't test it first though.

I came across this guys insane project (http://www.meaninglessdrivel.com/whatisthelsd/) , and thought it was an entertaining tangent to our YSP-1 discussions.

Enjoy!

#1 - I am thinking about inputs. It looks to me that there are 2 Toslink, 1 Dig coax, and 2 RCA's - correct? This seems appealing, as I could then hook up the tv I plan to get, the dvd, the ps2, and some music streaming device (not sure what exactly yet).

#2 - I know little about audio. What is an appropriate sub to pair with this. Given this would be a reach financially, is the dayton 10" sufficient, is there something that will be that much better if I spent an extra 100-200?

#3 - Room dimensions -

My Den is odd for placement. TV is in corner (only place it works), back wall is largely open to the kitchen (except for a pantry), ceilings are sloped and high. Dimensions (14 x 20 x 14?). I am attaching a couple of pix. How well do people think the simulated surround will work?

This is a dangerous thread to my budget. Thanks for any insights.

D

The second pic. The pantry is the wall in the foreground. On the other side is an entrance to the rest of the house.

M NEWMAN,
Do you think better drivers would produce better sound? I know that it is probably impossible to replace the drivers in this unit, but I was thinking about the potential of this design. Cineramax said the Pioneer unit was really good. If they put some Mangers or maybe had DST design a Revelator full range, then this might have a chance of sounding really good.

Ericglo

Another question

Any one know what the warranty is for this? B&H says two years. I am not sure if that is a yamaha warranty though (site displays the authorized logo, but as another poster pointed out, isn't listed on yamaha's website). My local retailler wasn't sure, called their rep and they said "maybe" one year. Looks like one year is listed over at onecall.

Originally posted by dc_pilgrim
Another question

Any one know what the warranty is for this? B&H says two years. I am not sure if that is a yamaha warranty though (site displays the authorized logo, but as another poster pointed out, isn't listed on yamaha's website). My local retailler wasn't sure, called their rep and they said "maybe" one year. Looks like one year is listed over at onecall.

I'll look at my warranty card when I get home tonight. I didn't get a chance to mail it in yet.

Originally posted by Ericglo
M NEWMAN,
Do you think better drivers would produce better sound?
Ericglo

No, this design has electronics optimized specifically for these drivers. There's an individual amp for every single speaker in that box, with tailored DSP processing for each as well. In other words, replacing them them would not only be essentailly impossible, but completely incompatable too.

Originally posted by dc_pilgrim
#1 - I am thinking about inputs. It looks to me that there are 2 Toslink, 1 Dig coax, and 2 RCA's - correct? This seems appealing, as I could then hook up the tv I plan to get, the dvd, the ps2, and some music streaming device (not sure what exactly yet).

#2 - I know little about audio. What is an appropriate sub to pair with this. Given this would be a reach financially, is the dayton 10" sufficient, is there something that will be that much better if I spent an extra 100-200?

#3 - Room dimensions -

My Den is odd for placement. TV is in corner (only place it works), back wall is largely open to the kitchen (except for a pantry), ceilings are sloped and high. Dimensions (14 x 20 x 14?). I am attaching a couple of pix. How well do people think the simulated surround will work?

This is a dangerous thread to my budget. Thanks for any insights.

D

It's a perfect solution for you, and it'll work fine in your room in that awkward corner layout. The Dayton 10" should be a good match too, and if you decide later that you want more oomph, you can always upgrade that at a later time. The Yammy was designed to completely replace an A/V receiver in a simple system, so there's already money saved there. Add to that, the fact that you no longer have speakers to purchase, nor the labor to pay to install the wiring, and you can quickly see what a bargain this little box is becoming. ;)

Originally posted by M NEWMAN
No, this design has electronics optimized specifically for these drivers. There's an individual amp for every single speaker in that box, with tailored DSP processing for each as well. In other words, replacing them them would not only be essentailly impossible, but completely incompatable too.

M NEWMAN,
I am not talking about replacing the ones in this particular system. According to the Audioholics interview at the end of the review, the owner of 1Limited said that any driver could be used as long as it followed a couple of parameters. So, if designing from the ground up would a better driver make this system sound a lot better?

Ericglo

Does anybody know where one can demo this thing in San Diego?

Mike

I gave a quick listen to the ysp1 at J and R Music World today. They are asking $1299. The unit sounded fine playing a movie sountrack but kinda thin playing music. When I closed my eyes the unit seemed to disappear in to the backround. I am starting to put together an ht in my living room, which like the rest of my house is tiny. i have a old Denon dr-1000 reciever and a pair of a/d/s/ L990 speakers that has been my primary system for years. So far I just play the tv and dvd player though these and call it a day. I have been considering the purchase of vintage a/d/s/ speakers and a new a/v reciever to complete a 5.0 surround system. However, considering the expense and hassle, I wonder if I might not be better off with a ysp1 and a subwoofer. Then i could use my old system for music and ysp1 for the tv and dvd player. the ysp1 seems to me to be the ultimate form of the ht in a box systems that seem to be popular right now, although if i am going through the trouble of dragging wires through the walls, it is not going to be for cheap sounding speakers. I would love to hear some other opinions on these plans, good or bad.

Is anyone else excited about the other applications for this technology??

If Yamaha, or another DSP genius company like Meridian, made surrounds with this technology, imagine the enveloping soundfield that could be created!!

Cnet review is up.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Yamaha_YSP_1_Digital_Sound_Projector/4505-7869_7-31304901.html

Generally positive - some concerns.

"The bottom line: Yamaha's bleeding-edge speaker technology creates a convincing surround-sound effect, but the quality won't satisfy audiophiles."

I just had a training on installing these yesterday. Very interesting piece. I have to say a perfect solution piece. It did do a great job of creating surround sound for what it is. like said earlier........its not something to take over your 7.1 system in the basement. But its great for a bedroom I think. A sub is an absolute must. It has no real bass at all. For the people wondering about a better version of this..........The yamaha rep we had specifically stated that this product is the start of a new product sku for yamaha............this is the low-end product of some other stuff that will be coming........yamaha is working on better versions.

I just heard this system and posted my impressions in the amp/reciever section:

I just happened to be in an Ovation Audio store where a Yamaha rep was demoing a complete HT system that consisted seemingly of nothing more than a long center channel.

First of all I have an all Cary HT sound system already that retails for close to $20K so I wasn't prepared to be impressed with a pseudo 5.1 single speaker deal from Yamaha of all things. But everyone in the store was raving about it so I reluctantly sat in for a demo.

This IS a single speaker - but it has 24 individual drivers. And a nifty room setup software - and a built in amplifier. The software dials in the room dimensions and positions the drivers to bounce off side walls and the back walls resulting in amazingly coherent and immersive 5.1 sound. The discreet sounds coming from the sides and behind were every bit as convincing as if seperate speakers were used. And from every point in the 25X25 room the immersion was absolutely convincing - and just downright amazing.

The only pieces required in this setup was a CD player, optional subwoofer, and this $1500 yamaha piece.

Was this better than my to die for $20K Cary system? Well yes and no. Sonically it wasn't nearly as refined, but it WAS more immersive. Since my HT room is also the family room, I can't place my surrounds in optimal locations, so the sound isn't immersive with just any seat in the house.

I actually seriously considered selling my Cary HT setup, and going with the Yamaha for HT. Then of course getting a simpler pure 2 channel audio setup for another room - it was THAT good.

If my room weren't as difficult to place speakers in, this option wouldn't have been as tempting as the Cary sound is better, more refined, and would be equally as immersive if I had more freedom with speaker placement.

But this brings up a good point. If you do have a room where you can't get into walls, or setup as many speakers as you'd like located in optimal placement, this is YOUR system. I can't imagine better sound quality for 3 times the price considering the need to invest in speakers, amps or receivers, cabling, etc. Heck my cables almost cost as much as this entire system.

And for a second HT system, this thing would be brilliant since it can flush mount on the wall - right under a plasma or LCD flatscreen with amazingly liquid room filling sound.

I don't think I'd rave about this system as much for music, but for HT it's downright brilliant. One of the great audio innovations I've seen in a long time - both at sound quality performance for price, and in terms of an efficient simple solution for the otherwise very involved and complicated task of HT audio installation and setup.

I've heard other single speaker pseudo 5.1 setups before that were frankly nothing more than a worthless gimmick. This one delivers the good at an incredible price and by all rights should revolutionize the industry IMO.

Originally posted by HTCrazy

This IS a single speaker - but it has 24 individual drivers. And a nifty room setup software - and a built in amplifier.

Actually, it has a whole pile of amplifiers - one for every driver in the box (If I remember correctly). The little tiny drivers use 6 watt amps, while the bigger midbass drivers use around 10 or 15 watt amps. In total, there's a buttload of power. Glad you got to experience what the rest of us have - it's a pretty nice piece of work. ;)

Originally posted by HTCrazy
I just heard this system and posted my impressions in the amp/reciever section:

....

HTCRAZY, thanks for this posting. I have been circling around this thing for a couple of weeks trying to decide what to do. I bought a house that came with pre-installed surround speakers. They are decent Klipsch in-ceiling speakers. My gripe(s) have been:
1) they are in-ceiling so I have very little to no opportunity to direct their sound. they do have a positionable tweeter horn but I don't really see much of a difference when I tweak them.
2) their positions are not balanced with the TV niche. The Niche is "right justified" on the wall while the main L/R speakers are in the corners of the ceiling. the result is that the right channel is probably where it should be but the left channel is about 7 feet off to the left of where it should be. The same problem exists for the rear channels. I really don't want to dig into the ceiling to try to re-wire the left channels so that they are more proportionally positioned.

When I read the reviews of the YSP-1, it really makes me wonder how it would sound compared with my current setup. I have an old Eosone center channel and Eosone sub-woofer. One of my major complaints has always been that voices are forever lost in the rest of the sound. This could be an issue with my receiver but I am convinced my center channel just sucks.

To make matters more interesting, I am right in the middle of designing the shelving for the media niche and have been stuck in a holding pattern for a few weeks trying to decide if I should design it for nice big expensive in-walls, less expensive book-shelfs or now this thing (all in an effort to resolve my dissatisfaction with my current speakers). I am leaning towards making the niche capable of housing both the YSP-1 and some decent book-shelves so I can defer the decision. I don't think I have the real-estate in the over-all area of the front of the niche to accomodate big in-walls.

Given your HT experience and your YSP-1 experience what would you recommend?
1) go with the YSP-1 and just use the existing Klipsh surrounds for music listening?
2) re-wire the position of the front left-channel and replace both front speakers with something that hangs down and gives more direct sound? (this could have a negative WAF considering the left speaker would be hanging out right in the middle)
3) opt for $$ in-walls

I guess I am trying to figure out how good the YSP-1 is. If I go with it, I solve so many other problems (new speakers, new locations, less $$ etc.)

Any advice?

thanks,

Mike

I, too, am very interested in this unit. I am in an apartment, so drilling and running cables is next to impossible. Then there is the WAF. Admittedly, I do not have audiophile ears.

From what I can gather, the ysp-1:

#1) Is fantastic for HT
#2) Adequate, though not phenominal at music

I guess my question lies with #2- Is it good enough to give better than average stereo sound? Or does it sound like a tin can and I'd be sorely disappointed?
Of course I'd have a sub with it as well.

The room I would have it in is a very strange shape...Sort of a trapezoid with a cubist twist to it ;)


-L

I read the CNET review and it mentioned that since it was powered, you could simply run this thing from a DVD player rather than a receiver.

For those who have already deployed one of these, are you using a receiver or just driving it from a DVD player. Also, does this unit do the sub crossover and provide a line-out for the sub?

Nirvana:

I do know that there is a sub-output on the YSP-1. And yes, I know that it has 2 optical TOSLINK inputs... The setup I saw was HDMI for the video to the plasma, and optical to the YSP-1 for the audio.

-L

I am a long time lurker with a quick question concerning this interesting piece of equipment: The manual states that the YSP-1 should not be placed on top of CRT television sets. This is a bit of a problem since I was thinking about putting it on top of a Sony 34XBR960. Does anyone know the ramifications of doing this? Or is Yamaha just being extra careful?

Thanks,
Andrew

Originally posted by mhoyt


One of my major complaints has always been that voices are forever lost in the rest of the sound.


Boy, are you gonna love the Yammy, then. One of its strongest points is the dialog clarity. Should be night and day difference.

Nirvana, This unit REPLACES the receiver in a basic system. In other words, if you've only got 2 or 3 sources, plug them directly into this box and you're done - no other components are needed (aside from sub and TV monitor).

Originally posted by Elrod
I am a long time lurker with a quick question concerning this interesting piece of equipment: The manual states that the YSP-1 should not be placed on top of CRT television sets. This is a bit of a problem since I was thinking about putting it on top of a Sony 34XBR960. Does anyone know the ramifications of doing this? Or is Yamaha just being extra careful?

Thanks,
Andrew

Good question - I am planning to do the same thing. I assume this device is video shielded and would not distort the picture. Any one know?

I was wondering about the stability of such a setup (I hear that the top of the xbr960 is 6 or 7 inches deep) - and the spec of the ysp indicate that it is 7.75 inches deep - depending on the center of gravity, I would assume it would be stable. If not - I think somewhere in the direct view forums there was a discussion of people placing a shelf on the top of their CRT's to hold center speakers.

What do you do if you have more than 3 inputs for audio?

Originally posted by Jithtproject
What do you do if you have more than 3 inputs for audio?

Get a receiver... :D Seriously, this product is not designed as a replacement for a full blown theater system. It's directly aimed at the 'family room/master bedroom/small home theater in an apt.' type setup. Couple of sources, a sub, and a big screen TV and whammo...ya got a home theater. If you've got a bunch of sources, then plug these into a different receiver or pre/pro that has a digital out, which then goes to the Yammy, and you've got your bases covered. Atlernatively, you could supplement the Yammy with this:

http://www.simacorp.com/products/item.ep.html?session=86f8349cda6b9785bdc261dbb092715f&id=339

Now you've added 4 more inputs, including digital, with a box that has a remote control so you can easily integrate it into your system. There.....done... ;)

Originally posted by Jithtproject
What do you do if you have more than 3 inputs for audio?

Get a Audio Authority audio or audio&video switcher. They are inexpensive and good quality.

quote:

http://www.simacorp.com/products/it...b092715f&id=339

I have a receiver but without digital out. So above I/O would be very useful.
Thanks.

Where can I listen or see one in NJ area?

On Yamaha website, Atlantic stereo & 6th Ave are listed as authorized dealers for YSP1 in NJ.

mhoyt & Lido - I find the sound of this somewhat bright without much in the way of midrage which makes it just fine for HT but not very good for music. IMO this is definitely NOT a music and HT solution. HOWEVER, you could easily have both with your main speakers (for your 2 channel setup) on the sides and Yamaha system in the center - looking very much like a traditional HT setup. Only your hairstylist would know for sure (well that is if you tend to tell your hairstylist about these kind of things).

mhoyt- All I can tell you is to find somewhere to hear one. As was mentioned already, dialog is very clear and the surround effect very immersive. Beyond that, it's a matter of personal taste, but after hearing it you'll know whether you want to ditch the other equipment and headaches for one or not. My guess is you'll make the decision to ditch. ;)

Well, I broke down and got one. Goodguys in UTC (San Diego) had one in stock and another demo unit that they hadn't hooked up yet. The guy told me to come by around 2pm and he'd have it ready to hear. When I got there he had it hooked up under a random TV on a long shelf of about 30 TVs with no walls nearby. He didn't even have a digital audio source connected. :-) I talked him into moving it to one of the pseudo living room setups that they have. There were at least some walls in the vincinity and more importantly my wife and two daughters happen to be sitting in this setup watching/listening to "Muppets in Space".

When the guy connected it, my wife and both immediately noticed how much more clear the dialogue was. Even in the open air room with noise all around with no time spent with any of the settings, it sounded pretty damn good.

So I bought one.

Its definitely a keeper but it may be headed to my bedroom. My living room (home theater in disguise) adjoins our kitchen so there is no "right" wall to the listening room. I have tweaked the beam setup quite a bit and can't find a perfect setup yet. I notice that most of the surround sounds are very much from the left. I am sure this is because I am missing the right wall. As far as dialogue goes, it is orders of magnitude better than my exising receiver/center-channel performance. We are hearing so many subtle details that we could never hear before.

My plan is to continue to fiddle with it to try to compensate for my 3-sided room. If that doesn't work, I will likely move it to the bedroom and try to upscale my receiver and/or center channel speaker.

All in all I am very impressed with this thing. I will post again when and if I am able to dial it in for my room.

Mike

Mike -

How "easy" is the configuration of the beams? Some reviews have suggested it isn't entirely well documented. I guess my concern is that I intend to also put it in an awkward set up (pics on the page 4 of this thread) - my problem is a corner placement, and a back wall that is mostly missing (to the kitchen). I am thinking I might be able to bounce the beams off the pantry that gives a bit of a surface to play with. I am just not sure if it will 1. work, or 2. be able to figure out how to configure the device. I guess I should just read the manual before I buy it. My local stores aren't stocking demo units yet (or weren't a week and a half ago).

How are you testing it, is it an ear test? If so, are there any scenes in particular dvds that people use?

Along with redecorating and new floors, I'm updating the A/V system in my great room. I was originally planning on updating an old Pioneer VSX-455 and Cambridge Soundworks HTIB with a new Pioneer or Panasonic digital receiver and Orb Audio Mod2 LCR and Mod1 surrounds w/subwoofer. However this poses a problem with wiring. With the new seating arrangement I will no longer be able to run surround wires under carpeting and setup the surrounds on stands without them being a safety issue (I have a 2.5 yr old.) Mounting to the ceiling was one option, but the room has vaulted ceilings that are 8' tall where they meet the exterior walls and rise to 12' at the roof peak. There is no crawl space in the ceiling and the ceiling joists run perpendicular to how I would need to run the surround cables. Running the wires in the ceiling would be either a. expensive or b. a DIY PITA. So that leaves running them to the ceiling in the interior wall the plasma will be on then across the ceiling in some sort of cable track.

OR...

It seems the YSP-1 would be exactly what I need. No surround wires, self-contained speaker set and receiver that should work for my A/V setup (ED Plasma, Prog DVD player/recorder, DirecTivo & Xbox) But as with nearly all recent construction the open space room is an odd shape at 20' W x 24' D with a roughly 7' square laundry room enclosure that cuts into the room making it a reverse "c" (see encl. pic for details.) I think I might be able to bounce the left surround off that enclosure, but the right hand side would be bouncing off a window that currently has curtains. I assume that will not provide the best reflective surface. The back wall of the listening area is 24' away from where the YSP would be projecting (over a bar height dining table) The surface will be flat however. So based on my lengthy description and the enclosed (but not to scale) drawing of the room, how likely is the YSP-1 to work properly?

According to the Audioholics review, it should work. He used it in 3 beam mode.

Ericglo

mhoyt - congrats! I'll be interested to hear how it went in the room with only 3 walls.

Originally posted by Jithtproject
quote:

http://www.simacorp.com/products/it...b092715f&id=339

I have a receiver but without digital out. So above I/O would be very useful.
Thanks.

You're quite welcome. I've used these a few times in various jobs and found them to be an absolutely stunning deal. Lotsa features for cheap money, and a remote to boot!

AZ_ST,

From the look of your room configuration, you will get surround sound, but with the lack of the back wall the rear channels will seem to be to the extreme left and right of the listening position. If this doesn't bother you, then go for it.

Thanks Rockhound. So your basically saying that the back wall is too far away to bounce the L and R surround back and make it sound like it is coming from behind the listener? Instead I would need to bounce it off the left and right walls, making the surrounds sound as if they are extreme right and left? Did I understand that right?

If so, I may just go through the hassle of wiring up speakers on the ceiling. I'd much rather have good separation of sounds and sound "bubble" around the listen area rather than it all coming from the front. Would moving my seating a little closer to the plasma make a difference? The reflected surround waves would still be coming from left and right but a bit behind the listening area. On my current setup, the rear surround speakers are facing each other on the left and right rather than facing toward the screen.

AZ_ST -

You might want to buy a YSP from a B&M store with a good return policy and see if you can get it to work. I am thinking of this approach to address my back wall concern.

If you go the ceiling route - you might want to consider flat wire (or tape wire or something like that) - which I believe can be painted over. I thought about that when I was contemplating a ceiling install. Do a search in the audio forums, and I think a few hits will come up.

Originally posted by dc_pilgrim
Mike -

How "easy" is the configuration of the beams? Some reviews have suggested it isn't entirely well d....

How are you testing it, is it an ear test? If so, are there any scenes in particular dvds that people use?

dc_pilgrim,

The documentation is a bit lacking. There are a few things you modify like "image" which I am not sure I completely understand. The manual does walk you through all of the individual twiddles you can do but it doesn't really tell you why you might want to change something.

I am using the ear test method. Its actually quite wild. You can literally hear the channel move as you adjust the beam angle. I was using the original Lord of the Rings but that choice was pretty random. The dialogue clarity is so much better than my previous center channel spearker. In one scene Gandalf is puffing on his pipe. You can hear the sound his mouth makes as he puffs. To me its almost like High Definition dialogue!

Thanks Mike that was helpful - I read the manual (or the UK version maybe, damn metric system) that some one posted a link to, it looks like the starting point programing looks kind of decent. I am expecting to come in to a little extra cash next week, and should pick one up soon.

I was able to test one at home for a weekend and was very impressed with everything it did. I was skeptical initially, especially as my room was larger than the recommended room dimensions on the manual. The surround effect was very good and consistent as I moved around the room. I only used the easy set up mode and did not explore the advanced; the easy set up seemed to do the trick. Engaging the test tone impresses with the discreteness of the effects channels and really sounds like there's a definite sound source behind and beside you.
I tried it both in my theatre and in my two channel room and found that the overall timbre and tone seemed to be influenced by the subwoofer it was mated with. When used with a popular midfi sub, I could say the sound was a bit coloured but when used with a fairly expensive sub, I found the tones and timbres to be startlingly pure similar to the way electrostatic speakers can have a certain purity to the sound.
The five beam mode combined with either ProLogicII Music or Neo6 was quite a pleasure to listen to for stereo sources. The soundstage that created was a treat. I did not like the 'Stereo' mode though.
I found it would play loud enough to satisfy most folks but did get bright and buzzy if pushed further. Is that digital clipping?

Marc - which (more expensive) subwoofer did you use with the YSP-1 to make stereo music sound good?

I was able to test one at home for a weekend and was very impressed with everything it did. I was skeptical initially, especially as my room was larger than the recommended room dimensions on the manual. The surround effect was very good and consistent as I moved around the room. I only used the easy set up mode and did not explore the advanced; the easy set up seemed to do the trick. Engaging the test tone impresses with the discreteness of the effects channels and really sounds like there's a definite sound source behind and beside you.

What is "expensive subwoofer"? I have paradigm servo 15. Does it qualify as expensive?

Originally posted by AZ_ST
Thanks Rockhound. So your basically saying that the back wall is too far away to bounce the L and R surround back and make it sound like it is coming from behind the listener? Instead I would need to bounce it off the left and right walls, making the surrounds sound as if they are extreme right and left? Did I understand that right?


The three beam mode uses the side walls to reflect sound back to the listening position, and when you select five beam mode it sends the discrete rear channel information further back on your side wall with the intent of the sound reflecting off the rear wall before you hear it behind you. Your rear wall (back of dining room) looks like it is too far behind the listening position to work properly, but I haven't tried to bounce the signal that far yet, so it may work fine with adjustment.

The one system I did with no rear wall sounded like the back 2 beams bounced off the back of the side wall and pretty much was lost somewhere behind the listening position.

Mirage also makes a similar intergrated speaker with three Channels L/C/R :


http://miragespeakers.com/unitheater.shtml#



.

sapnho,
It was a Totem Acoustic Lightning.

I took the YSP-1 home yesterday and tested it extensively with both music and video. I compared especially the music sound to my existing stereo.

Although I am very impressed with the reflection techology, I took the unit back to my dealer today because it just wasn't usable at all for music.

Great concept but not ready for (music) prime time yet. For video it was ok. Yes, and you definitely need a subwoofer.

I wouldn't say it is not usable at all for music. We play music through it all the time while we're at home doing normal daily stuff. If you want to sit and really listen to hifi two channel music, then you should look elsewhere, but this system is simply not designed for that use anyway.

does anybody know if the rear sound can be "bounced" off the ceiling.

I have a family/ht room that has three walls only...(missing the left wall - adjoins the kitchen)

im looking to move my current system down the basement and might use the ysp as a second system for the family room....

anyone?

hello there :)

I got mine yesterday and have a question for you.

While in test mode for the rear channels, I can hear the test tone coming from two directions: the speaker itself and the virtual rear speaker.
They are about equal in volume.
Is that normal ?

I understand that the beam must first pass near my ear before being reflected, so I adjusted the settings the best as i could, especially i chosed a focal distance so that the beam focuses at the same distance as the listening area, to make it as narrow as possible in this area.

I even tried to raise the beam so that it bounces on the ceiling to pass as far from my ears as possible.
It didn't improve.

Well my question is just: do you also hear noise from both directions in test mode ?

I just saw the YSP-1 for $960 at newworldvideo.com. Everywhre else it seems to be at $1299. One downside is they only offer a 10 day return instead of 30 day, but if you already know it's what you want..... I'm just a little disbelieving though, to see it at only one place a such a large discount.

Originally posted by mpjalapeno
I just saw the YSP-1 for $960 at newworldvideo.com. Everywhre else it seems to be at $1299. One downside is they only offer a 10 day return instead of 30 day, but if you already know it's what you want..... I'm just a little disbelieving though, to see it at only one place a such a large discount.

I wouldn't bet my money on them:
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller4804.html

Some of the more reputable online stores have hidden prices very close to theirs. Try B&H and J&R for example.

Originally posted by lefuret38
hello there :)

I got mine yesterday and have a question for you.

While in test mode for the rear channels, I can hear the test tone coming from two directions: the speaker itself and the virtual rear speaker.
They are about equal in volume.
Is that normal ?

I understand that the beam must first pass near my ear before being reflected, so I adjusted the settings the best as i could, especially i chosed a focal distance so that the beam focuses at the same distance as the listening area, to make it as narrow as possible in this area.

I even tried to raise the beam so that it bounces on the ceiling to pass as far from my ears as possible.
It didn't improve.

Well my question is just: do you also hear noise from both directions in test mode ?

Yes, but don't get too hung up on it. In actual use it isn't a distraction. I set my unit up by setting everything to zero, and first going in and adjusting the horizontal angle of the beams. I then tweaked the localization by adjusting the vertical angle. It may be the wrong way to go about things but got the best results for me.

I "auditioned" this unit for the bedroom for 5 days. I'm dialing this down as much as possible.... but my 1st pro-logic system (a decade+ ago) had far superior separation on stereo feeds than this box does with a pristine 5.1 or DTS line. Sound and Vision's assessment of this unit makes me question their overall integrity, as this speaker (in a sound isolated 15X 12' HT room w/ plaster walls) was just as I expected a speaker that "projects" against "material-x" in "room x" with home theater quality.... a joke; be it a very well engineered joke w/ many tiny amps. Is this for the set truly opposed to any wire/mounting of speakers, or for those for whom a true multichannel experience is just an abstraction and boasting about the efficiency of their "1pc kit" trumps sonic quality?Id rather settle for a stereo mix-down on 5/10 quality fronts than this crap. The only reason that I demoed this is due to reviews, and I've never been so disappointed with the disperency.
J.Edgar

I seem to recall there was some talk about a smaller, follow-on unit coming out at some point, targetted to CRT users, etc. Any one hear any word on that (model number, timing, etc)? Would fit my needs better.

The purpose of using the YSP is to avoid having speakers scattered throughout the room. For the reason, I think the unit competes with in-wall/ceiling speakers. If in-walls/ceilings are not an option and in-rooms are not viable, this is a good alternative. If you already have a good set of discretes, the YSP won't blow you away.

I've tried the YSP1 at 4 different locations over the last couple of months. It works well when the sound can bounce off walls to reach the left/right front and left/right rears. Unfortunately, few of my rooms met that requirement. Any room that opened to another room from the right/left walls torwards the front or back compromises that respective virtual speaker.

I watch mostly sports how do these work for watching sports since most of the sound is coming from the center I was thinking using this as a big center channel with an added sub for sports and regular tv.
any thoughts?

I watch mostly sports how do these work for watching sports since most of the sound is coming from the center I was thinking using this as a big center channel with an added sub for sports and regular tv.
any thoughts?

I watch mostly sports as well and I love the unit. I am POSITIVE that you can get better sound elsewhere BUT I have surround sound without running wires and having speakers all over and my wife thinks it looks good.

Back to performance, I've watched a ton of Yankee games and a little of the CWS and the system performed as expected. I can't wait for the NFL.

One note, if you buy this unit, you CANNOT "think" about adding a sub. It is a must!!!!! Using the YSP as a "big center" is a complete waste of money. There are far better center channels out there and the YSP was not intended to function in that way. It will work but personally, I would never spend $1k on a center only.

Disclaimer: My room is a perfect square and there are two places where the sound can leak: 1) fireplace and 2) 7 foot by 4 foot (approx) door opening to another room. Your room shape will affect performance of this unit if it isn't set-up properly.

Could someone tell me how wide the wall mount bracket for the YSP-1 requires? In so far as "wall meat" it requires?

(I'm building a"portable" home theater with a pedestal for my lcd and the YSP-1 using wall mounts and I want to have the cabinet maker get started while I'm waiting for the speaker to get here.)

Is there any problem (height wise) and setting up the YSP-1 puting it above the display?

Thanks for any help

Jeff

Could someone tell me how wide the wall mount bracket for the YSP-1 requires? In so far as "wall meat" it requires?

(I'm building a"portable" home theater with a pedestal for my lcd and the YSP-1 using wall mounts and I want to have the cabinet maker get started while I'm waiting for the speaker to get here.)

Is there any problem (height wise) and setting up the YSP-1 puting it above the display?

Thanks for any help

Jeff

If you look at a site that sells the wall mount I'm sure you can get the measurements.

There is no problem "height wise" as long as you keep the unit mounted below the maximum height suggested by the unit. Before I decided to go with RPTV, I was going to mount it above a plasma and that would have put it at approximately 7 feet high and it was still within specs.

My advice, download the manual for the unit. There are many adjustments for the system and all the measurements and tolerances are listed in the manual.

If you look at a site that sells the wall mount I'm sure you can get the measurements.

Nope ! I've looked at probably 8 sites that sell the mount and the yamaha site and no dinmensions! Anybody using one of these mounts?

There is no problem "height wise" as long as you keep the unit mounted below the maximum height suggested by the unit. Before I decided to go with RPTV, I was going to mount it above a plasma and that would have put it at approximately 7 feet high and it was still within specs.

My advice, download the manual for the unit. There are many adjustments for the system and all the measurements and tolerances are listed in the manual.

Thanks, I'll download that and give it a read!

Jeff

I have a 57 inch Sony rear projection TV Model KP-FS57M61. Planning to get the Yamaha YSP-1. Anyone knows whether the Yamaha can be placed on top of the TV or would it be better placed above and behind the TV, mounted on the wall. Can the Sony tv withstand the weight of the Yamaha sound projector. I understand it weighs about 28lb...(13 kg). Any other suggestion for a "cheat surround" system..

I have a 57 inch Sony rear projection TV Model KP-FS57M61. Planning to get the Yamaha YSP-1. Anyone knows whether the Yamaha can be placed on top of the TV or would it be better placed above and behind the TV, mounted on the wall. Can the Sony tv withstand the weight of the Yamaha sound projector. I understand it weighs about 28lb...(13 kg). Any other suggestion for a "cheat surround" system..


http://www.yamaha.com/yec/customer/manuals/man_subspeak.htm

Any other suggestion for a "cheat surround" system..

To my knowledge, the Yamaha is the most sophisticated of the "cheat" systems. But there are other / cheaper options. I made a list a while ago:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5340289&&#post5340289

A follow on product is rumored for a September release:

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000303053002/

Lookin for a sub to compliment my YSP-1. I need an inexpensive but effective sub woofer for my bedroom. I have narrowed it down to these 2 subs, the dayton 10 and the velodyne vx10. does any body have any insight or opinions on which sub woulld suit my needs? I have a yamaha ysp-1 on the way and need a sub very soon. My audio setup will be mainly used for movies and sports and on occasion I will throw a CD in my dvd player. We just put wood floors in my room, I dont know if this should make a big impact on my decision. If it helps for anyone to know the dimensions of my room it is approximately 11x11. Any feedback or advice is greatly appreciated! :)

I have heard the YSP-1 in a dealer demo room about 15x15'. The guy is a Yamaha rep and barely have time to set up (bear this in mind for comments below). He used a Def tech sub from the store.

Here are my thoughts:

My first impression is definitely a big "wow". I have not heard such a big "wall of sound" from such a small setup and this price range. The standard DTS demo disk (I think) with Hero and the like was used. You can here the rain filling the whole front wall very clearly. The dialogues are clear and powerful, the sword zings with gust. A huge soundstage was created up front. The surround was okay (I think because of lack of set up time).

You definitely need a sub, IMO. The YSP is able to create such a big sound that with a properly set up sub it will just be monstrous. I am only speculating here because the Definitive Tech sub was definitely not set up properly and sounded very boomy and diffuse.

However, if you are an audiophile, either forget it, get a separate system in the room or use it for you non dedicated family room or something. Given its price and power, I was going to give it a lot of leeway. But even so, I could not stand it playing 2 channel music. It is definitely powerful and clear (espeically dialogue) but when it comes to music, the sound is congested and narrow, metallic and hard (I wouldn't say harsh). You often can't make out the details in the music.

One rule of thumb of a musical systems to me is: Would it make me want to come in to listen more or even listen to music that I don't normally like because the recording is so good? The YSP one definitely does not do it. Not compared with my $200 paradigm atom.

In summary, I believe the YSP-1 is a great addition for some and disappointment for others. For $1500 Cdn, you would be hard pressed to find a set of speakers (let alone including other componets) that would match its huge sound, clear dialogue, powerful effects from such a simple setup, no cables, with the decoder/amp included! It can be jaw dropping for yourself, family and friends alike. Add a sub and multiply the power by 10 (the last point is speculation).

For people who like music, however, it will be a disappointment. For such a huge sound, the killer is the (lack of) enjoyment factor. I remember after getting my atoms, I dug up my good sound CD's and hear totally fresh things and had fun for a while. I don't think I will ever do that with the YSP-1. To impress friends and get some adrenalin rush from machine guns bursting and fighters zooming left to right, yes. Music, no.

Ben

P.S. I am still searching for my HT speakers as can be seen in some other threads. So far I have listened to Totem Hawk, Forest, Von Schweikert VR2, Usher 6731, and lately JMLabs 926 which I may purchase. To be honest, even after listening to the JMlabs, I am not sure I can get the sound stage bigger than the YSP-1.

A follow on product is rumored for a September release:

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000303053002/

Per this link - European release may be November 1. Its mostly talking about the YSP-1 --but hints the ysp-2 is coming 01.11.05 (based on alta-vista's translation).

http://happycinema.de/root/jump/shop/id1//id2/221/act/pro_detail/proid/1412/ref/X?PHPSESSID=f00f82573acd98bb5bd98dc9af567292&PHPSESSID=f00f82573acd98bb5bd98dc9af567292

Interesting.

I mounted my YSP with home made brackets made of 2 plane metal pieces and little dremel ing. Works fine. The brackets are attacked to a sturdy beam (I live in earthquake area). I would not recommend putting the YSP on top of a TV (except the giant RPTV's with a flat top), its just too heavy. I am using a PSB 5e subwoofer with it and the integration is excellent. Since the crossover for the sub has to be around 100 Hz the quality of the sub gets important. I tried velodyne, MK and some others but liked the quality/sound/price combination of the PSB best.

This is a tempting system.... I am in the situation where there is only at most 3 walls at most, so no way to reflect back :/

I picked one up from a local dealer today to test out, but have not set it up yet. I have a room with 3 normal walls but that's open on the fourth side to the adjoining kitchen. I'm thinking this will not bode well for my tests. Will the YSP be able to handle that kind of room?

I picked one up from a local dealer today to test out, but have not set it up yet. I have a room with 3 normal walls but that's open on the fourth side to the adjoining kitchen. I'm thinking this will not bode well for my tests. Will the YSP be able to handle that kind of room?

Craige -- I'd really appreciate it if you would post your findings. I am also interested in the YSP-1 (or YSP-800) and I also have three walls and an open(ish) kitchen.

Craige -- I'd really appreciate it if you would post your findings. I am also interested in the YSP-1 (or YSP-800) and I also have three walls and an open(ish) kitchen.

I have the exact same setup and the unit works pretty well for me. I'd say that the right front channel in my setup is a little "vague" but overall I'm still pleased.

About 4 months ago a family friend bought the YSP-1 and I helped him set it up. He bought the YSP-1, an electric DALite Screen, Infinity PS-12 and an Optoma projector (forgot which one...its got 3500 lumens). He bought it coz he was VERY impressed with it in the demo room.

He even had a guy come out and build a custom cabinet (replete with granite counter) and hid the screen in the dry wall. But the bottom line is that in his set up with no wall on the right side of the screen (3 solid walls only-opens to the commone area between upstairs bedrooms), it really does not do much of a surround job. It has excellent front L, Center, front R imaging but the surround effects seem to come from nowhere in particular: while in a typical 5.1 set up you know that the the SAME sounds will come from your rear channels ONLY.

His set up is very very clean but even he is not very impressed with the surround qualities of the YSP-1 for his application.

I have a similar situation in a small office room, where there is a desk and other junk on the right wall. This definitely ruins the right sound effects (both FR and RR).
My ghetto solution is simply to create a long board (maybe from just posterboard?) that can be temporarily mounted on the desk area during movie playback. I could then simply adjust the beams to bounce off this...
Thoughts/suggetions?

In situations with no left or right wall, why not use something like a shoji screen to use as a boundry between the two rooms? You don't need a complete wall, just some place for the sound to bounce. They are decorative, will provide a place for the sound to bounce (provided you get solid ones) and can be painted or decorated to match your decor. They can be a great place to mount family photos on too.

Hi All.
I need some input please.We just relocated and my new room is a challenge.I've attached a pic. I have 3 Mirage omni-sats and a Sony str4es. Wiring rears appears to be very difficult. I heard the ysp-1 yesterday and moderatly impressed. I listen to a lot of concert dvds and movies.I'm trying to spend around a grand to finish this system.Any input would be appreciated.I guess i'm asking if I would be completley disappointed with the yamaha vs. the Sony mirage setup.

For those of you who have the YSP-1 do you use it for all TV viewing (never using your panels built in speakers)? or just for things that require surround?

I watched 2 movies this weekend with the YSP hooked up and working reasonably well despite my missing wall. Both movies were filled with lots of subtle sound: The Machinist and Conspiracy. Both good movies, btw.

At various points I was definitely getting surround sound effects so the missing wall was not a huge problem, but I noticed several things:

1) sometimes I was getting "surround sound" when there were no surround sounds...the speakers were reflecting odd bits of the audio for no apparent reason (I probably have it set up wrong)

2) It seems to be a tad on the "tinny" side for me. I also noticed a hiss during some quiet parts of the movies...it's not consistent and could well be the movie tracks, but I've never heard it before with any other movie on any other sound system.

3) Sometimes I heard full left/right speakers perfectly and sometimes they seemed pretty far off. Again, possibly a set-up issue.

4) Not suprisingly, it's strongest channel is the "center" speaker.

I'm going to try some action movies this week to see how it does. At the moment I'm leaning toward taking it back. I like what it does but think I'm only getting about $500-750 worth of sound out of it, not the $1100 or so it actually costs. That's a totally subjective statement on my part, I know, but it's how I feel.

What I might get instead is the Paradigm Cinema 110 set-up, in case you're curious.

c

Hi all, FYI it looks like there is a new YSP1000. It should be the same than the YSP-1 with YPAO.

It should be the same than the YSP-1 with YPAO.

Huh?
Whats YPAO?
gotta Link?

Thanks

Jeff

YPAO Yamaha Parametric Acoustic Optimizer uses a microphone to auto-setup the YSP1000.

the only link I have is this IFA video clip http://www.cinenow.com/fr/article.php3/id,2291/

I forget what it stand for, but basically you put a microphone in your seating position and the Yamaha will automatically set your speakers at the correct levels for your. Kinda cool.

I forget what it stand for, but basically you put a microphone in your seating position and the Yamaha will automatically set your speakers at the correct levels for your. Kinda cool.


Damn

Just bought a YSP-1 6 weeks ago! Guess it'll have to go in the bedroom and get the new baby for the living room!

I haate when that happens!

Thanks

Jeff

Just moved into a new studio and am seriously considering the YSP-1. Anyone know if I'll experience any problems with my setup? Don't know much about this stuff and would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks everyone.

In case its not clear, my "living room" is about 14 x 21 and my "dining room" is about 9 x 12, although its all obviously one room. I usually sit in the chair. The tv is a 42 Panasonic Plasma, in case it matters. Thanks again!

Action391, that's not a good setup - if you could rotate your setup 90 degrees and put the plasma on the wall to the right of it's current position, then it would be ideal.

I just hooked up the YSP-1 the other day. I went through the manual setup and can't figure out what to do. There is a lip-sync issue but the audio is behind the video. The Delay is set to 0 now and if I change the setting it just gets worse. Is there any other adjustments that can fix this?
My setup is a sony DVD player hooked up with Coaxial Digital cable and a Sony Sat-300 hooked up with a Toslink cable. They are both hooked up to a Pioneer 4330HD Plasma Display. The audio problem is the same for both the DVD player and the Sat box.

ive had my ysp-1 since last febuary and now a new one called the ysp-1000 is coming out oct :eek: it comes with a black screen and will cost $1699 about 200 more than ysp-1
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ja_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.yamaha.co.jp%2fnews%2f2005%2f05091401 .html

Are there any owners out there who can tell me if I can use this only as a center with all of the speakers going??

I ask because my weak link in my system is a center channel that sounds right.......
Yamaha rx-z9 is what I am using and I redirect the center channel to the fronts.
This is awesome imaging! but I realize a seperate piece will have better sound seperation thanks

Got a YSP-1 for my family room about a couple of weeks ago. It took me a while to figure out how to get the best sound out of the box. I have a corner set-up and am using the stereo + 3 beam mode.

Setting the levels on the left & right surround channels is definitely non-inuitive ... it appears as if the sound is coming from both the surround and the center channel. Initially I had the surrounds set far too low ... now they are set approx 7db higher than the front left and front right channels. This seemed to provide a better enveloping sound than the default setup the box came up with.

Although I don't have a SPL meter handy, I plan to set the levels on the speakers using a SPL meter shortly. Does an SPL meter actually help to achieve the proper levels on the YSP-1? I am not so sure an SPL meter would be helpful when the test tone coming out of the left/right surrounds seems to have a component up front as well. Let me know what your experiences have been with the use of SPL meters for calibrating the YSP-1.

ive had my ysp-1 since last febuary and now a new one called the ysp-1000 is coming out oct :eek: it comes with a black screen and will cost $1699 about 200 more than ysp-1
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ja_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.yamaha.co.jp%2fnews%2f2005%2f05091401 .html

There's more on the YSP-800 and YSP-1000 here:
here (http://www.audioholics.com/cedia/cedia2004/YamahaYSP800YSP1000.php)

I really wish that my YSP-1 had YPAO and the Black face, those are the main things that would have value to me. Otherwise, it pretty much sounds like the YSP-1000 is the same rig as the YSP-1.

There's more on the YSP-800 and YSP-1000 here:
here (http://www.audioholics.com/cedia/cedia2004/YamahaYSP800YSP1000.php)

I really wish that my YSP-1 had YPAO and the Black face, those are the main things that would have value to me. Otherwise, it pretty much sounds like the YSP-1000 is the same rig as the YSP-1.

Why is there such a big price difference betn 800 & 1000? Is it only related to size or Watts output too? Just curious, if any one knows these speakers.

800 has 21 speakers and the 1000 has 42 like the ysp-1. another reason why is that they have added component inputs.
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=ja_en&trurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.watch.impress.co.jp%2fevent.ng%2fType %3dclick%26FlightID%3d9878%26AdID%3d16650%26TargetID%3d180%2 6Segments%3d43,95,142,163,193,209,214,250,255,258,259,260,26 3,266,267,355,370,373%26Targets%3d180%26Values%3d31,51,60,81 ,91,100,110,195,227,243,271,377,488,528%26RawValues%3dRIP%25 2C66.94.237.142%252CSITEID%252CAVW%26Redirect%3dhttp%253a%25 2f%252fad.impress.co.jp%2fspecial%2fyamaha0510%2f

Are there any owners out there who can tell me if I can use this only as a center with all of the speakers going??

I ask because my weak link in my system is a center channel that sounds right.......
Yamaha rx-z9 is what I am using and I redirect the center channel to the fronts.
This is awesome imaging! but I realize a seperate piece will have better sound seperation thanks

No...get a better center channel or go to the effort of moving it where it needs to be. Your Z9 is fine and nothing the YSP-1 offers would warrant replacing it. Keep in mind that these models are designed to replace the receiver, as well as all 5 speakers in a 5.1 system with only about 3 sources. It's not intended as a center channel, nor is it designed for a big theater system. It is a simple solution to smaller systems and remodel situations where pulling surround wires is unrealistic.

Well I would like to let everyone know that the YSP-800 is now available for purchase. I know the Vann's and Onecall both have it for sale on their web sites.

Jordan

Anyone know when the YSP1000's will hit the US market? I'm holding off on the YSP1 until I see those

would still have been nice with a tuner, only reason I wont get this

I am planning to purchase the above PD. I will be using a DVD, D*and wireless from my MAC via Airport Express which has analog and optical audio out. How should each piece of equipment be connected to the YSP-1? I'm thinking that I can use the component from the the D* STB to the PD component input and a component to PC cable from the DVD to the PD. Can this be done? Do I need a AV receiver?

Robert

Well I would like to let everyone know that the YSP-800 is now available for purchase. I know the Vann's and Onecall both have it for sale on their web sites.

Jordan
I would be curious to find out about performance, if anyone got it.

Jitht,

I can not comment on the total performance of the YSP-800 but I did hear one at CEDIA this year and I was impressed. It is a lot smaller than the YSP-1 physically and it will work great with smaller tv setups or in a bedroom. I plan on purchasing one in the near future to go with the 30" LCD in my bedroom.

RdCohen,

You can easily do that set up and you won't need a Receiver like you said you will have to use a VGA breakout cable ($10-15). However if you wait for the YSP-1000 to come out you could use the component switching that it will have built in, and you get the YPAO calibration technology

I can't beleive that there aren't any dealers within 100 miles of me!? ...at least that's what yamaha's site says.

I'd love to take a peek at the 800 but w/o a hands-on there's no way I can order.

Does anyone know how to add additional speakers to the YSP-1. I want to install some outdoor speakers. Since this unit replaces the need for a receiver. How do I go about doing this.

Is there additional inputs for doing so. Bottom line is I want to pump the sound from my satellite outside.

Please help.

It's not designed for this use, but a simple work around is to add a really low cost 2 channel rec to your system and run the R&L analog outputs of your sources to that (remember, the YSP-1 only needs the digital audio outs).
Here's an example of a super little rec for the job that's under $100: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90136348&SearchEngine=ya&SearchTerm=90136348&Type=PI&Category=Electronics&dcaid=17194

It's not designed for this use, but a simple work around is to add a really low cost 2 channel rec to your system and run the R&L analog outputs of your sources to that (remember, the YSP-1 only needs the digital audio outs).


So to make sure I understand this correctly, I take the analog outs from my DVD player and run it to the 2nd receiver. Same thing with my satellite box. Same thing with my cd player. Same thing with my tv, etc...

I haven't checked it out yet on my system, but I assume these analog outs are not already dedicated (can you tell I'm a newbie at this ). From your post, I am guessing the answer should be no, since the only the digital audios are connected to the YSP-1.

So to make sure I understand this correctly, I take the analog outs from my DVD player and run it to the 2nd receiver. Same thing with my satellite box. Same thing with my cd player. Same thing with my tv, etc...

I haven't checked it out yet on my system, but I assume these analog outs are not already dedicated (can you tell I'm a newbie at this ). From your post, I am guessing the answer should be no, since the only the digital audios are connected to the YSP-1.

Yep...you got it. ;)

Yep...you got it. ;)

Great! I'll check it out. Hopefully, it's as easy and straightforward as you make it sound.

any news on the YSP-1000 release in the US? It was supposed to be in October. I know it is being sold in the UK

thx

any news on the YSP-1000 release in the US? It was supposed to be in October. I know it is being sold in the UK

thx

Amazon has it. So do some other on-line merchants. I was in a Tweeter today, and they don't have it yet at the store I was in.

anybody know the diff between the ysp-800 and the ysp-1000? I dont see anything worth such a big price diff.

23 speakers vs 42 speakers in the ysp-1000. i would pick the ysp-1000 just because it will sound better

23 speakers vs 42 speakers in the ysp-1000. i would pick the ysp-1000 just because it will sound better

Yea sorry, I just found a comparison chart on yamaha.com. About a $500 difference (on ebay), thats a deal breaker for me unfortunatly. Im in a apartment, dont plan on playing it that loud anyway.

I saw this issue mentioned in some of the posts, but could not find a definitive answer as to whether I can keep all my components connected to my exisiting receiver (Denon 3805), and then just use a optical out connection from the receiver to the YSP-1? I would much rather use my existing receiver as a "hub" for all my connections if possible. Assuming I can connect the YSP-1 to my receiver, can I still use the Denon's auto set-up for speaker arrangements, or will that mess things up for the YSP-1? Thanks in advance for any information.

You can certainly keep all of your components connected to the receiver and feed a single connection to the YSP-1. I have components feeding into an external switch instead of a receiver, but same thing. I don't know anything about the Denon speaker setup, sorry.

I am *not* an audiophile but am slowly improving my AV setup. Since I live in a studio apartment (I can't yet put in a hotlink, but if you go to theparamountsf com, then "Floor Plans," the first "Corner Alcove Studio" is my floorplan) the YSPs caught my eye.

In my apartment the TV on a stand is just "above" the windowsill area (the white rectangle with the dark square on the right) on the "bottom" of the living room, with the sofa about where the words "LIVING/DINING ROOM" and room dimensions are. I'm a little concerned about the YSPs' effectiveness because including the "SLEEPING ALCOVE" the room is 28' long.

Also, my TV is currently a 27" CRT (like I said, slowly improving), but I hope to eventually get a 32" or even 37" flat panel (nothing larger given how cramped things are already). When that happens I *may* place it to the "left" side of the living room, with the sofa on the "right," but I may just put it where the current TV is. For my current and potential future setups, would the YSP-800's 21 speakers provide a noticeable difference versus the 1000's 42 speakers?

there is no way you can use the ysp's in this set up to get the best sound you have to have a perfect square or rectangle and the speaker has to almost dead center between left and right walls. the maximum room depth is 21 feet and even at that i bet it would sound bad. you pretty much have to build a room around this speaker you cant just put it anywhere :o i guess you can start looking for home theater packages now :rolleyes:

you can have a maximum length of 40ft but it won't sound normal past 21 feet

I have my whole home theater setup in a 5 foot wide "cubby" space with very short walls on each side in an otherwise open room. My listening area faces the cubby 12 feet away and is against a back wall. The problem is that the wall on the left side of this "cubby" is only about 1 foot deep. If I place the YSP-1 dircetly under my plasma, there would only be about 6 inches of wall for the side beam to bounce off of. Is that sufficient? I guess my set-up would require the side beam to be transmitted at almost a 90 degree angle. Can anyone tell me if this will work? Thanks.

23 speakers vs 42 speakers in the ysp-1000. i would pick the ysp-1000 just because it will sound better

Has anyone purchased the YSP-1000? I am looking to use it in my living room (NOT my primary home theatre) where I just purchased a 32" LCD set. Although I am going to do only incidental TV watching in my living room, I would prefer to have something better than genuine TV sound. I saw the YSP-1 at Home Theatre 2005 in NYC last summer, and was very impressed. Anyone?

I have the YSP-1000 that I put in a room with a second TV for Video games and stuff. Pretty cool if you ask me. I can't compare it to the YSP-1, but I heard there were a couple of improvements including component switching.

Has anyone purchased the YSP-1000? I am looking to use it in my living room (NOT my primary home theatre) where I just purchased a 32" LCD set. Although I am going to do only incidental TV watching in my living room, I would prefer to have something better than genuine TV sound. I saw the YSP-1 at Home Theatre 2005 in NYC last summer, and was very impressed. Anyone?

I have the YSP-1000 and to my knowledge teh only difference between it and teh YSP-1 is the microphone and its auto-calibration feature (so you don't have to manually set it up).

I don't know if this has been brought up in this long thread but the YSP-1 is not shielded. We ran into that problem on our first job. Yes it usually goes under a plasma or LCD but I've had a few people with CRT's that have wanted one but no go.

I posted this initial review of mine for my newly purchased YSP-1000 in the audioholics forum but thought it would be appreciated here as well so I have copied and pasted it below:

Well I was finally able to play around with my YSP-1000 this weekend. I compared the performance of the YSP-1000 with my RCA audio receiver with accompanying 5.1 satellite speakers with various video games and also several DVD movies with directional sound effects. I would play a particular scene from a movie over and over with outputting the sound through the satellite speakers and then play the scene again through the YSP-1000 and compared the performance. I did the same thing with some video games with positional sound sources. The included auto-calibration microphone included with the YSP-1000 is well worth it and only takes about 3-mintes to calibrate itself to your particular listening environment. I rearranged my living room a couple of times to find the best position for my TV/YSP-1000 and compared its performance (I have wood floors so it relatively easy to slide furniture around). As narrow as the YSP-1000 is, It balances very well and is pretty darn stable just sitting on top of the narrow ledge of my Samsung HL-R6168W. I did however, secure it down better than by just relying on gravity to hold it there. I went out and bought those little double-sided foam tape things that they sell these days…the ones that can be removed by pulling on the little flap that stretches the material until it pops loose…..I put one of those at each corner where it sits directly on top of the TV and I can now shake the TV and the YSP-1000 stands firm. The plastic and foam Velcro fasteners that are provided with the YSP-1000 are too unstable….they allow the unit to rock back and forth too much because of the compressible nature of the foam under the plastic pegs. The double-sided foam tape is less compressible and provides a much more solid and stable surface.

Here is my take:

It is not ‘quite’ as good as my satellite 5.1 speaker system in producing the rear channel sounds. I did quite a bit of experimentation with different video games and DVD’s and although the YSP-1000 does a pretty good job of synthesizing sound from behind you, you can still also hear the sound also coming from the front and/or side of the room as well. When comparing this to my satellite rear speakers, the rear sounds come only from the rear. Now in a movie experience watching a DVD this makes little difference, however, if you want true, accurate positional sound in a video game, and not be wondering…”wait, did that footstep come from the side of me or behind me?” then a satellite 5.1 speaker system is the way to go. However, I am sort-of splitting hairs here, and the YSP-1000 does do a good job of it, just not a perfect job of it.

The front left and right channels are separated very well however, and I can tell little if any difference between the YSP-1000 and my satellite speaker system in the surround effects across the front right to left.

All in all, I am impressed with the YSP-1000. For me, it does a good enough job that I have decided to keep the YSP-1000 (even for gaming) and have already taken down my satellite system. Besides, the YSP-1000 is just plain cool :cool: ; and versatile as well. The ‘slight’ loss in accurate positional sound from the rear channels for gaming is not a big enough deal to outweigh the fact that I now have a neater, cooler looking home theatre/gaming environment in my living room without all the speaker cables running everywhere. And the versatility of it is great with its “target” mode where you can aim the sound in a particular direction……which is great for me when I’m working out on my Bowflex or Treadmill in an adjacent room I can just aim the sound directly at me. With my satellite system I used to just crank the volume way up in order to hear dialog and such over the noise generated by running on the treadmill, and the fan I have blowing on me to cool me off. Now I won’t have to crank the volume as high, but rather just more effectively aim the sound directly at me instead of thumping the whole house. Plus, now anytime I want to rearrange the room its as easy as just running the 3-minute auto-calibration routine in the new configuration (instead of having to run speaker cables all around in a new configuration).

I have only played around with it this past weekend so far. I am quite pleased with at this point and I suspect that I will like it even more the more I use it. The only way you can tell that its not ‘quite’ as good as a satellite system (for rear channels) is if you have the two system both set up, side by side, and objectively compared the two against one another as I did. If you don’t already have a 5.1 satellite speaker system then chances are you would be very impressed with this YSP-1000. Also, I may learn over time that I can manipulate and tweak the performance manually to be even better than what the auto-calibration has provided…..I guess I’ll see….. :)

Thanks for the detailed review BridgeBoy! Am considering this unit as well.

Anyone know if Yamaha demo'ed an even later version @ CES 2006??

Yamaha demo'd the YSP1000 at CES 2006. They had the other YSP systems for show - but only the 1000 was used in the demo. Very impressive (as Demos are designed to be).

Darryl

Just how versatile is this system for directing sound beams around the room? Right now I have my home theater equipment set up in a small room with an Infocus X1 Front Projector, and 5.1 satellite speakers. Since the projector and dvd player are both sitting beside me (in between two recliners), the YSP would ideally sit on top of the dvd player, and therefore would not be facing the viewers. Despite facing the "wrong way" can the sound beams be manipulated to produce 5.1 sound in the correct areas of the room? The room is 8 feet wide by 10 feet long and rectangular. I'm by no means a stickler for perfect audio, but obviously don't want the entire sound field to be reversed. The sound is good right now with the setup I have but because of the portable nature of the X1 I like to be able to move "the show" out to the living room/friends' places etc., and it is such a pain messing with all the speaker wire/receiver connections when moving the audio along. The YSP just looks like such an elegant, low hassle solution to me. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

you must have the ysp 6.5ft away from the seating area, and you should put it under where your screen is. 8by10 ft is ok as long as the ysp is centered in the room.

Just how versatile is this system for directing sound beams around the room? Right now I have my home theater equipment set up in a small room with an Infocus X1 Front Projector, and 5.1 satellite speakers. Since the projector and dvd player are both sitting beside me (in between two recliners), the YSP would ideally sit on top of the dvd player, and therefore would not be facing the viewers. Despite facing the "wrong way" can the sound beams be manipulated to produce 5.1 sound in the correct areas of the room? The room is 8 feet wide by 10 feet long and rectangular. I'm by no means a stickler for perfect audio, but obviously don't want the entire sound field to be reversed. The sound is good right now with the setup I have but because of the portable nature of the X1 I like to be able to move "the show" out to the living room/friends' places etc., and it is such a pain messing with all the speaker wire/receiver connections when moving the audio along. The YSP just looks like such an elegant, low hassle solution to me. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I agree 100% that the YSP-1000 is exactly what you describe above in your sentence that I have bolded. According to the instructions, however, the listening position needs to be a minimum of 2-meters in front of the unit (for 5.1 surround sound). Like someone else mentioned above, just put the YSP-1000 right against the wall you are projecting your image onto, or above or under the screen you are projecting onto. They also sell a separate optional mount for mounting the unit onto a wall. Especially in a perfectly rectangular room as you are describing, I'd imagine you could get even better results for simulated rear channels than I am experiencing in my somewhat more complex listening environment.

Now for target mode, however, you direct all the sound in a straight line anywhere within a 180-degree arc in front of the unit.

Now for target mode, however, you direct all the sound in a straight line anywhere within a 180-degree arc in front of the unit.

Surround capabilities in target mode, now that would be cool!

Thanks for the info guys. I figured it would be too much to hope for to have surround simulated with the YSP beside me, but figured I'd check. Just wanted to avoid having to run any cable at all from one side of the room to the other. With the speaker beneath the screen I either need to run audio cable from the DVD player to the YSP, or alternatively I could have the DVD player paired with the speaker, and run video cable back to the projector. Still much easier/nicer than speaker wire all over the room though :)

I have a space that is 40 5/8" wide and want to put up a flat screen television. I've done some research and think the Sony XBR 40" LCD might be the best option for the space. It is pretty pricey and doesn't leave any financial room for audio enhancements. I was considering buying an LCD or plasma display (without speakers) and adding the Yamaha YSP-800 system. I saw the YSP at CES and found it quite impressive but they don't sell them in any store here in Indy and I don't know anybody who has one. My goal with a system is easy to use with my DVD and Dish Network receiver. I want my wife and kids to be able to watch TV without worrying about the remote and components getting out of sync.

Any comments on the YSP?

How do you control it? More specifically do you have to switch the input on the TV AND the YSP when switching sources?

Recommendations on displays that will fit my space?

Do you think the Sony is a better option?

Any other ideas?

Also, I need a mount that will allow the TV to swivel right to left on a vertical access. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
bfrank

How do you control it? More specifically do you have to switch the input on the TV AND the YSP when switching sources?

You can get the YSP-800 manual here:
http://www.yamaha.com/yec/customer/manuals/PDFs/YSP-800_e(UB).pdf

If you hook up multiple separate inputs to both the TV and the YSP, then yes you'll have to switch sources on both. A programmable remote is one way to automate that. If your TV has an audio out that you can feed to the YSP, then you can avoid it, but if you have digital/multi-channel audio in, you'd want to make sure the TV's audio out is also digital/multi-channel capable.

There is a new review on CNet for the YSP-800. They actually like it better than the YSP-1. You're going to have to go to CNet and do a search, because the message board here won't let me post a URL hyperlink until I cut my teeth beyond 5 posts. :rolleyes:

There is a new review on CNet for the YSP-800. They actually like it better than the YSP-1. You're going to have to go to CNet and do a search, because the message board here won't let me post a URL hyperlink until I cut my teeth beyond 5 posts. :rolleyes:

Thanks for the post about this new review! :) Here is a link:

YSP-800 Review on CNET (http://reviews.cnet.com/Yamaha_YSP_800_Digital_Sound_Projector_silver/4505-7868_7-31624253.html)

Yes, they like the YSP-800 better than the previous YSP-1 model; but had they reviewed the newer YSP-1000 I would have to imagine that they would like it better than the YSP-800.

I bet the main reason they like the YSP-800 better then the previous YSP-1 they reviewed is mainly due to the autocalibration feature of the YSP-800 (also present in the more powerful YSP-1000) giving a better calibration than their ability to manualy calibrate the YSP-1.

This sounded like the perfect solution for me until I read the CNN review. The "works best in a sparsely furnished, conventionally shaped room" part of the review is bad news. Should I assume that this technology would not be effective in a large L-shaped room with cathedral ceilings?

This sounded like the perfect solution for me until I read the CNN review. The "works best in a sparsely furnished, conventionally shaped room" part of the review is bad news. Should I assume that this technology would not be effective in a large L-shaped room with cathedral ceilings?


I have a less than ideal shaped L-room as well. And one of the reflective surfaces is a fireplace with a rather elaborate built-in mantle that has different angled surfaces that bounce the left rear channel’s sound in different directions (instead of a nice flat surface) and I am pleased with the performance. The left rear channel is not as defined as my right rear channel, but it is good enough for me. Yes, it is not as good at distinguishing the rear channels as satellite speakers, but I like it better than wires run all over.

I think the key phrase is "works best" in a conventionally shaped room. You just have to be able to visualize the straight paths of the sound waves bouncing off of walls or other surfaces and then arriving at your ears from the direction intended to hear the particular channel. If you know how to play billiards you should be able to picture these sound paths (angles originating from one central place, the speaker) in your particular room and envision whether you think it will work (I.E. is there furniture in the way of the sound's path, etc.)

Your cathedral ceilings should have no effect one way or the other because you not going to aim the sound waves upward; you’re going to aim them horizontally and bounce them off the walls or other vertical surfaces you may have (such as a chest of china or an armoire).

Thanks a lot for the response Bridgeboy. I can work with that.

Just got mine and it works great. I just need a sub, any suggestions for a large family room around 500 dollars music and HT
thanks

1. Is anyone with a YSP-1, 800, or 1000 using the cheap Yamaha subwoofer recommended by Yamaha itself (model YST-FSW100)? If so, how is it?

2. Can the sound "beams" from any of the YSP models reflect well off glass? My setup would have the right beam bouncing off the glass infront of a fireplace which is angled to the right and the left beams would bounce off a wall of all windows.

My place is shown in the drawing. Will this layout work with 5 beams to give a 5.1 stereo soundstage for the couch and chair shown in the drawing?

The photo shows the present seller's furniture layout which will be different than mine. The HDTV in the photo is not mine and is the seller's old 50 inch. I will get a new Samsung 56" LED DLP and move it further left as shown in the drawing.

Should I be able to achieve good 5.1 sound that seems to come from behind?

...
Should I be able to achieve good 5.1 sound that seems to come from behind?

What you are looking at is a corner placement based on the photo. The YSP systems are 3.1 in that configuration. The surround sound effect is much less pronounced with that setup.

to get the full effect of this speaker you would have to be sitting in the end of that dinning room table or sitting on the coffee table. if you don’t have a square or rectangle room with 3 solid walls you have to go back to the home theater packages.

im siting 6.5ft from mine and their is a glass window to the right and i don't get the SR channel. the SL sounds great but the SR sounds like its the center speaker.

to get the full effect of this speaker you would have to be sitting in the end of that dinning room table or sitting on the coffee table. if you don’t have a square or rectangle room with 3 solid walls you have to go back to the home theater packages.

im siting 6.5ft from mine and their is a glass window to the right and i don't get the SR channel. the SL sounds great but the SR sounds like its the center speaker.

I guess I have 2 1/2 solid walls and a glass wall. I'm very disappointed that the window'ed wall wouldn't be a good relector of the right front or right rear channel and I find that surprising. The half angled wall would do fine for left front but the left rear would hit the dining table looks like instead of being reflected back to the couch. A fix could be putting up a decorative screen between the dining area and living room area that would cover part of that missing wall and reflect the left rear. But then if the windows don't reflect the right rear, I'd be only left with a left rear which isn't good.

Dfwald: I received your private messages and I am responding here in this forum. First of all, like the posters above me have mentioned, I doubt you will get good 5.1 sound from that room shape of yours.

As far as your other question you asked (private message), yes, those sticky tabs work very well and hold the speaker up on top of my set just fine. The only slight drawback is that the weight of the speaker slightly bows the top of the set (which is made of plastic); it’s hardly noticeable but it’s not ideal. The average person would never even notice it. You can get those removable strips anywhere; Wal-Mart or a hardware store. They are usually made by 3M. They have a small tab on them that is not sticky that is there for when you want to remove the strip….you pull on the tab and it stretches the sticky part of the material until it releases. It leaves no sticky residue behind so you never even know it was there.

Just thought of a potential fix "IF" the wall with windows would reflect and the glass front of the fireplace too. I could have the TV exactly in the corner and swing the couch to the left to directly face it instead of parallel to the wall. Then the half wall on the left (fireplace) could supply maybe enough length for left rear. The left front would have to be aimed at the beginning of the fireplace instead of the open doorway though. It seems my arrangement would be quite hard to get right in the best scenario and maybe impossible if the fireplace and window'ed wall don't reflect well at all. Any comments or suggestions?

I guess I have 2 1/2 solid walls and a glass wall. I'm very disappointed that the window'ed wall wouldn't be a good relector of the right front or right rear channel and I find that surprising. The half angled wall would do fine for left front but the left rear would hit the dining table looks like instead of being reflected back to the couch. A fix could be putting up a decorative screen between the dining area and living room area that would cover part of that missing wall and reflect the left rear. But then if the windows don't reflect the right rear, I'd be only left with a left rear which isn't good.

I'm not sure I agree that the glass would not reflect the sound: Glass is solid and will reflect sound just fine in my opinion. I'm reflecting off of glass in my scenario as well. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure the owner’s manual even states glass will work.

However, it’s the fact that your missing one wall altogether that makes your room shape not work well.

I just demo'ed the YSP-1 at tweeter and all I can say is HOLY FREAKIN CRAP. Anybody who says this thing is not amazing is nuts or in denial. The surround effects are not completely behind you but rather right behind your ear, amazing.

I tried the forest demo, the rain demo, and then we put the matrix in and I can't convey the awesomeness of this unit. This was a properly calibrated YSP 1 I can only imagine the YSP1000.

My question is I can only afford the YsP 800. Would I be losing a lot? I mean, it was really great thunderous omnidirectional sound. My Klipsch and Panny surround gives better rear seperation but it sounds like surround sound. The Yamaha sounded REAL if that makes any sense. It sounded like the sound was enveloping me.

Ugh, I wish I could get the 1000, I wonder how much I'll lose with the 800. Anybody ever try both?

Thanks

i hope you have a good room set up and a minimal seating distance of 6.5 and a few feet behind you for the rear channels to work.

Yeah, the room is a perfect square with a door in the back left corner. I'd be 8 feet from my screen and 10 feet from the YSP which I'm putting on the wall behind the 61" JVC LCoS. I'm still amazed at what I heard. :)

edit:forgot to mention the room is 15x14

I would just search around the web for the best price for the YSP-1000. I found mine for less than a YSP-800 at the time. I can't remember exactly but I think I bought mine for $1000 or $900.

Yeah, the room is a perfect square with a door in the back left corner. I'd be 8 feet from my screen and 10 feet from the YSP which I'm putting on the wall behind the 61" JVC LCoS. I'm still amazed at what I heard. :)

edit:forgot to mention the room is 15x14

well it will work great in that room then. make sure you have a subwoofer. also yamaha has a wallmount bracket that costs extra and the speaker cover comes in black in silver but it is a option when buying a 800 or 1000

I have a ysp 800 in a room 18x21 with 11 foot ceiling, and the left wall has a large opening in it . Very pleased with it. In your smaller room, it should be great.. You must have a decent subwoofer with it. I have a Martin Logan Dynamo, and set the crossover on the YSP to 100 mhz. Despite the opening with the left wall, and the fact the tv is off center, using the microphone it still was able to perform a decent setup. It moved the left front channel further rear to miss the opening in the wall, its amazing it was able to do it. In a room the size of mine, the YSP1000 would be better yet, if one is willing to spend the additional money. But since your room is smaller, on large openings, with TV centered on the wall, you should be delighted with the YSP800 if used with a good subwoofer. Don't buy the cheap Yamaha subwoofers.

^^^Thanks buddy, then the 800 it is as for my room the 1000 would be overkill. I have a nice Velodyne sub from my old setup which is earth shaking. :)

I have seen the 800 on Ebay for as low as $520 refurb and 565 new

What do you guys think?

Hi Mayamanign,
I just wanted to tell you, you will love the YSP whatever. I got the YSP-1 about a year ago. It is one of the few things that after an entire year, I am still blown away by it. I have a Klipsche subwoofer with it. I have a friend who has a $2500.00 BMW speaker/sub set up. Every time he comes over he says he is being forced to rethink his 5.1 set up. In his words, 'his sounds like 5 great speakers and 1 subwoofer, where is mine sounds like a 'damn movie theater.' Total immersion. The YSPs are one of the few things in electronics I personally think are actually 'underpriced' for what they achieve.

What would be a good sub woofer for the ysp 1000.
I have read on posts that the one that Yamaha makes is not the best choice.

Thanks
(Another) Mike

Tweeter recommended the Martin Logan dynamo subwoofer for my YSP800. I am extremely happy with it, it fill the room which is 18x21 with 11 foot ceilings. No mush booming bass , very tight.

For the info on the Martin Logan. I checked Froogle and the best price was $569.00 plus shipping so I might look further, but thanks again it is a place to start.

Mike

Hey Mikie, what is your space and money limit? I recently purchased an av123 refurb Xsub for only $169 and it is awsome for the size and price. I was blown away by what it could do. The living room dimensions are 11ft cathedral ceiling, 12x20 open to a kitchen and two halls. It might not do what other expensive subs do, but it is able to rattle some picture frames in the living room and the other rooms as well, plus did manage to take a CD off of a shelf during LOTR. Just a suggestion :)

And where did you get it ?

Money is not the problem, just bought a 50hp66 and than this ysp 1000.
I've just spent a bunch and than this sub woofer comes up.

Thank god I'm single so I don't have to listen to bitching.

Let me know where you got you deal on refurbished and what brand.

Thanks for the help

Mike

Some good options would be www.********** Only a few items are listed in their B-stock but you need to give them a call. The xsub is a great deal if you are on a budget, if you want to keep it under 500, ask about their ULW10 refurb.

Option two. SVS subwoofers. A PB10 refurb can be had at under $400 which is another awsome deal, I just saw quite a few of those on their site https://svsound.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_ID=12
They can send out a nice punch.

Option 3. HSU Subwoofers. Call them to ask about what refurbs they have in stock and to get on a waiting list if none are available. Look at the STF-2 for under $500.

Option 4: Most Bang For Your Buck, Kick Butt Sub: DIY. I am going to be taking this route, it seems to be the most afordable with the best output, and satisfaction knowing that you made it. A SonoSub is fairly easy to make and can be done in as little as three nights or so. A good start off would be a DVC 15" sub from www.partsexpress.com and a 250watt amp from either them or www.rythmikaudio.com After purchasing the wood and tubes to make the port and actual sub, it will come in under $400. Also probably give you the best results. Downside, you have to make it(plus for some) and also it is fairly big(another plus for some ;) )

In my opinion those would be your best options. Also check out a Frys if you have one near you, a lot of times they have kick butt close outs on pretty decent subs.



And where did you get it ?

Money is not the problem, just bought a 50hp66 and than this ysp 1000.
I've just spent a bunch and than this sub woofer comes up.

Thank god I'm single so I don't have to listen to bitching.

Let me know where you got you deal on refurbished and what brand.

Thanks for the help

Mike

Ummm hello can we keep the conversation on the awesomeness that is the YSP? LOL

Kidding ;)

LoL, my bad MAYAmanIGN. I was just trying to help :-P

The YSP does seem pretty sweet though. I was heavely thinking about getting one, but unfortunately my bed room is just not set up right. I have no left wall what so ever, so instead I am just going to go with some HTD in wall speakers, I only live bout an hour away from them.

However, I will keep my eye on the YSP and what kind of advancements they have. I would like to get one for when I move into a new home. I am a big fan of Yamaha :)

Thank you for your help, Laraza, it is much appreciated . I will look into all of you suggestions. Sorry to get off on the subwoofer tangent. But with my past system ,
Onkyo 5.1 the sub did not seem to make much difference. I might even try the old sub with the ysp 1000.

Thanks for all the good help again.

Mike

Can any one suggest a good dvd to use to get the full surround sound benefit?

i have a question about a sub woofer set up with a ysp-1. should i set bass out to swfr or both and what cross over should i use 80hz or 100hz? also what should treble and bass set to in tone control

i've had this thing for over a year now and would like to get the most out of it :o

Can any one suggest a good dvd to use to get the full surround sound benefit?

Typically any recent action movie. I used War of the Worlds to test mine out for instance. I picked scenes where missile or jets were flying by and it really gave a good effect of hearing them wiz by. The best way to test it, however, is if you have a game console hooked to it, I have an Xbox 360. I just load up a game that supports directional sound and I take my character to a sound source and then spin around and you can hear the sound circle around the room.

i have a question about a sub woofer set up with a ysp-1. should i set bass out to swfr or both and what cross over should i use 80hz or 100hz? also what should treble and bass set to in tone control

i've had this thing for over a year now and would like to get the most out of it :o

I don't really know because I have the YSP-1000 which automatically adjusts the corssover (output) for me. I'm pretty sure that the manual told me to set the sub's crossover to 80hz as the starting point, however, for what it's worth.

should i set bass out to swfr or both and what cross over should i use 80hz or 100hz?

swfr vs both: whichever sounds better to you. 80 vs 100hz: depends on what frequency range your swfr is good for. You can use a calibration DVD like Avia or DVE to check how uniform the crossover sounds at different settings.

Anyone know if there are any technological differences between these speakers?
Are the YSP-1 and YSP-1000 equivalent speakers or does newer technology in the newers speakers make them better?

Mike

Would like to get some nice sound into the bedroom, but can't be running speakers in each corner.

Is the 1000 overkill for the bedroom? What are people paying these days?

Michael

Anyone know if there are any technological differences between these speakers?
Are the YSP-1 and YSP-1000 equivalent speakers or does newer technology in the newers speakers make them better?

Mike

The YSP-1000 is better because it will auto-calibrate itself to your room. Other than that I think they are probably the same speaker. Just go to Yamaha's site and read about them.

Picked up a YSP-800 last week for my 12x12 room (TV in one corner). I absolutely love it. I bought an on-sale Athena P4000 subwoofer and the sound I now have in the room is amazing.

I was skeptically about the surround effect but the auto calibration feature really works well. I find I have a fairly large "sweet spot". It doesn't cover all my seating but for me it's not a problem. If I really want/need the most accurate directional sound (for games) I sit exactly in the calibration spot. Even out of the "zone", it still can detect surround effect.

Overall I'm very happy with it

PM1K

I recently purchased a YSP-1000 and posted my impressions in DC_pilgrim's one box for all thread at this link.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8031759#post8031759

still very happy with the new set-up!

any of you with a YSP sitting fairly close to the back wall? what does this do to your surround sound experience?