Yamaha YAS-10# Owner Thread

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  bobbified on 19/01/2019 - 16:50

  -4

  umm.. what is the point of this post?

  • 

    JonnyQuest on 19/01/2019 - 17:29

    I gather it would be of interest to quite a few people that have already purchased the various versions of Yamaha SoundBars (it has been a very popular entry model over last few years) for TV's : YAS 106,107,108 and ATS 1060,1070,1080. I purchased the ATS 1080 - but am deciding on how to place it - as that will determine the quality of sound quite a bit. knaoko 's suggestions are of interest to me. I would imagine the information here would not be of much interest to other parties that don't have an interest in the ideas of improving sound for their TV's or listening to music - within a budget. I came here from another entry : www.ozbargain.com.au/node/433114

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  thebadmachine on 19/01/2019 - 17:00

  +1

  Just my experience using the product.

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  JonnyQuest on 19/01/2019 - 17:46

  I have yet to hook up the ATS 1080 I bought last November from Bing Lee on a great Ebay deal. I just wish to have it connected to TV ( I believe I now need an additional HDMI cable for best connection. I have TV connected to Laptop via extended HDMI cable to obtain computer screen on TV and playback Spotify, Youtube, and recently Amazon Prime viewing. So I am looking forward to improved sound experience - once I get a short single HDMI cable.

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  thebadmachine on 19/01/2019 - 19:07

  Would just like to add/confirm:
  The digital output=(HDMI/Optical TOSLINK) from your TV/Streaming Device, can be "stereo" or "surround(dolby)".
  (This can be automatically detected if the streaming device has an 'auto' mode, and the other device is only compatible with one type of output(old TV).
  Or two devices can communicate and can confirm that indeed you want STEREO or SURROUND.
  But in some cases this auto detection can choose the wrong thing for what you want and it is best to select/change/lock it in manually.)

  When using the surround(dolby) output, the DSP is processing all 5.1 channels and correcting the volumes
  to maintain the accuracy to how the sound engineer wants it to sound on a surround system, and to avoid distortion etc.
  And often times the way the sound engineer has tuned it is for a proper HiFi surround sound system listened to at high volume.
  This leads to vocals being weak, and some sounds being louder than others etc.

  In terms of surround from a soundbar,
  it was never going to be surround(unless you shell out for YSP-2700/YSP-5600 which actually attempt to reflect sound).
  The soundbar circuits are just delaying some channels, changing the volumes of certain channels, adding reverb/echo
  to trick you(often poorly) into thinking you are listening to surround(YAS-107/108 with Virtual X try their best to do this).

  What I do is set the digital output from the Apple TV to stereo, and use the stereo mode to get clear sound.
  Even if you pump 5.1 channels into the sound bar, you are still basically getting only left to right dimensions.

  Another thing is if your digital output is set to "auto" or "5.1 surround(dolby)", even if you use stereo mode on the sound bar,
  in some cases it will not communicate with both devices that you want "stereo" mode,
  and the sound you get will basically be an attempt to convert 5.1 into stereo(or playing the two front channels from 5.1 I'm not sure).
  The resulting sound was slightly weaker, and had a slight reverb.

  I have heard the difference in sound when using stereo mode on the YAS-106,
  and switching the Apple TV 3 Dolby Digital settings to AUTO(defaults to surround[dolby] on) / ON, and OFF.
  On Apple TV 4/4K i believe the setting shows 'Stereo' instead of 'OFF' and "5.1 dolby instead" of ON.

  Method and ability to have this control of your Digital output will vary with brand/product.

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  bnebgnhunter on 19/01/2019 - 19:24

  Just remember each amp and room will have different sound profiles and each person has individual settings which may sound better / crisper to their ears.

  One thing I learn being a sound engineer is that no two rooms / amps / speakers or subs were the same and each piece of equipment at various venues had quirks that you had to either work with or live with for the best experience for the patrons.

  Now when it comes to these threads, these are your personal settings for your room which gives you the best sound based on trial and error and experimenting with settings on your amp

  In regards to your reverb in surround mode, this is correct, they do that to make the sound fuller for the rear channels, at the expense of some top end and mid range. Stereo obviously overcomes this by running basic left and right mirrored to the rear channels, perfectly acceptable for music, movies, not so much.

  Your settings are a good start point for people but people who buy amps usually want to drive different brands of speakers to suit their tastes and needs, for me personally I hate having to deal with speaker cables and just use a good quality tube preamp and a pair of studio monitors by Sony, for surround sound I just have a Samsung sound bar sub and rear speakers, for anyone serious about audio you’ll profile your room, set your channel delay, phase and levels to suit your room. In the old days when I was more into audio I had big technics (the good old technics not the crap today) tall speakers and a really nice 31 band eq which I used on the front end / centre speakers and a nice band pass filter which a lot of people were in awe at movie nights, even after scoffing at my setup, I even had comments with guys with bigger speakers and amps and wondering why their system sounded inferior to my system.

  You really need to tune your audio to your own tastes, flat eq to me sounds bland and boring where I usually push a little more top and midrange to get sizzles of the high hats on drums and guitar riffs in solos.

  Yamaha from memory come with a little microphone to profile your room, I suggest any advice to people it’s to use it and let it profile your room properly
  Adjust your high and mids secondly and finally your subwoofer to fill the lower end , of course a good sub and amplifier will always push anything 80hzand below to your bottom end subwoofer

  Don’t cheap out on speakers either if you do have an amp, good speakers on a good entry level amp will always trump badly matched speakers on a better amp.

  • 

    thebadmachine on 19/01/2019 - 19:38

    Hi thanks for you comment. Regarding amp's and speakers, yes I can understand where your coming from, but I think people these days are going towards simplicity with quality and performance. Like how most just want to control everything from their smart device/phone and have these wireless/powered speaker system options.

    In terms of absolute personal preferences, I would go for a pair powered Adam T5V's or T7V's with their ribbon tweeter, sound signature(very transparent with open and wide sweet spots and waveguide) with their small high/low compensation adjustment switches.
    Yes its class D amplification, and yes they are near field, but that suits me, as normally when I listen to music, I sit still, and listen is all I do.
    And I am about efficiency(both in philosophical terms and power consumption), rather than outright power or sound nuances.
    Also I'm not serious enough to get into mathematics to treat a room.

    But the price is too steep for me at the moment, so I will probably miss out on them, and there will be some kind of replacement model in the future.

    In terms of setups the thing I found nice about soundbars, is that their Left/right channel locations are fixed. This helps in setting up for inexperienced users. And so just add a few of your own steps with experimentation(locations etc), and you could achieve a satisfactory sound.

    And lastly regarding EQ, yes I do use the custom savable EQ slightly on the iOS Onkyo App,
    I made one specifically for 4 Tracks which I could only get in High quality MP3(unreleased songs),
    And one EQ for 1 specific song, which was just Mastered with way too much high end.
    The 16bit FLAC's sound fine with no EQ applied.

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  [Deactivated] on 19/01/2019 - 19:37

  I thought (was hoping) this was a vintage MIJ acoustic guitar thread.
  Yamaha G-100 owners ?
  Thats my fave of my many acoustics.
  I think I have Yamaha G-50 also. G-100a is definitely my fave classical vintage acoustic. Found in mint condition, at cash convertors for about $50 . And it's twin was at the same store at same time, I bought steel string dreadnought of similar vintage (70's), at same time. The G-100a is absolutely beautiful in looks and sound.
  Yamaha G-100 owners ? Might start a thread

  • 

    thebadmachine on 19/01/2019 - 19:42

    +1

    Sorry to disappoint you buddy, maybe we can agree that Yamaha do a great job with sonics & acoustics?
    From speakers to instruments such as Piano's and Guitars.
    I read that they even did the acoustics/part of engine development for the Lexus LFA supercar.
    From wiki "The production version of the Lexus LFA features an 553hp V10 engine developed in collaboration with Yamaha exclusive to the car."

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  mlenser on 19/01/2019 - 20:34

  Can anyone tell me the difference between the ATS-1080 and the YAS-108? They look the same and the specs seem identical and so is the RRP of $349? I was planning to use one mainly with a TV and occasionally play some music via Bluetooth.

  • 

    thebadmachine on 19/01/2019 - 20:38

    They are the same.
    I just double checked the Yamaha AU website these models are identical.

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  thebadmachine on 21/01/2019 - 14:19

  If you are looking to give your soundbar/powered studio monitors Wireless Hi-Res Audio
  (And dont want to go with a used Apple TV 3($100) or AirPort Express 2nd Gen ($50-100):
  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/361464?page=6#comment-6868…

  • 

    thebadmachine on 25/01/2019 - 21:48

    Deal in link is No longer available.

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  thebadmachine on 25/01/2019 - 14:52

  Epilogue:
  I believe these days people are looking for the sound they like at lower volume listening levels. I tend to listen at what I call adequate volume, and this is where speakers really shine.
  If you are looking for great sound at low volume, you are relying mostly on DSP(software) and less so speaker(driver) quality and amplification.

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  eviledward on 02/02/2019 - 21:45

  Hi everyone, currently own a YAS 1070 and looking to get recommendations a subwoofer on the low-mid range if possible?

  Happy to hear what everyone has with their setup at the moment.

  Thanks

  EDIT: Using it mostly for movies and games, with my ps4 running optical and the rest of the devices/Netflix running through ARC connection to the TV.

  • 

    spendNsave on 05/02/2019 - 16:02

    +1

    For $245, you can pair it with the Yamaha NS-SW100 from this deal.
    Or look for used subs on gumtree; M&K, REL, and SVS are great brands for subwoofer.

  • 

    thebadmachine on 21/02/2019 - 03:38

    +1

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/434380#comment-6889126

    Here is a link to the thread where I post links regarding good setup for this series sound bar with sub.

    A few summaries:
    - sub must have crossover frequency control(frequency cut off adjustment) to get optimal sound. (Prevents issues with wrong frequencies coming from sub as is the case with YAS-207 model)
    - with the YAS-10# series with sub tuned properly, sound quality is better than YAS-207 (yamaha’s Bar+sub model) and many other higher end sound bar models. (Sound as in sound quality, not surround sound and all other potential features)

    • 

      eviledward on 21/02/2019 - 08:34

      Thank you, I ended up with the Yamaha NS-SW100 as I couldn't pass it up at $250.

      Would have liked to have a sub with this feature:

      • sub must have crossover frequency control(frequency cut off adjustment) to get optimal sound. (Prevents issues with wrong frequencies coming from sub as is the case with YAS-207 model)

      but anything with that feature costed quite a big premium.

      I'll see how I go with this guy for a while. So far so good.

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  thebadmachine on 15/03/2019 - 21:05

  Hi an update to the experience of using the Yamaha YAS-106 soundbar.
  Recently moved the soundbar and the shelf it was in into a bigger room. And listened to it further away with the necessary higher volume levels.
  There is a dramatic difference in the sound signature. My setup (or the soundbar itself) seems to only work best in near-field listening.
  From further away the highs disappear, and the mids become muffled. The lows are still there but the overall sound signature becomes a steep down curve from the mid-bass area. Not enjoyable or pleasant to listen to at all. The same setup in the shelf sounded great in the bedroom. Not so much in an open area from further away.
  I gave great points initially but it seems this soundbar works best listened to near-field.

  • 

    thebadmachine on 22/03/2019 - 15:43

    After fiddling with the settings I have arrived at an acceptable sound.
    I turned clear-voice on (which was very unnatural and odd sounding in near-field) and lowered the bass level to 0 or -1.
    From a distance now the high’s are present again, and although still sounding a little unnatural still with clear-voice, this is less noticeable at a distance.
    The mids are less muddled thanks to the bass level being lowered, the bass still has some boominess (from having to turn the volume up a lot more) but this cannot be avoided as I need the bass to be present from a distance.

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  tekisei on 09/12/2019 - 00:48

  Just got an ATS-1080 and straight away noticing that "s" sounds are really grainy and a bit harsh.

  Google tells me the problem is called sibilance, which is usually present in the original recording, but some speakers mask it better than others.

  Can mitigate it somewhat if I go to stereo and not surround.

  Wondering if anyone else has noticed the same issue?

  • 

    thebadmachine on 09/12/2019 - 01:49

    First make sure “clear voice” is off (you can check this on the indicator lights on-top of the soundbar).
    The “Clear voice” setting when switched on boosts the higher frequencies and may be causing the sibilance.
    This may solve your issue.

    If you want to try “stereo” instead of surround, switch both the soundbar & the source to “stereo”.
    (Soundbar: press button on remote that says “stereo” -indicator light for “surround” should be off on the soundbar)
    (Source: go into streamer box / player + TV settings, make sure both are set to “PCM stereo”)

    • 

      tekisei on 09/12/2019 - 21:34

      thanks @margejsimpson, I've made sure clear voice is off and I was already on stereo.

      Actually I was mainly testing yesterday for Bluetooth music streaming, but I tried some TV as well today, and there is the same issue, though not as obvious. Turns out my TV already had sibilance, but with the TV speakers I didn't really notice it.

      The Yamaha audio source selection (TV, Music, Gaming, Movies, etc) isn't very useful either for this, and there is no equaliser on the Yamaha app.

      • 

        thebadmachine on 10/12/2019 - 15:06

        +1

        The Yamaha audio source selection (TV, Music, Gaming, Movies, etc)

        These are the surround options, and choosing one will mean “surround mode” will be activated again.
        There should be a “stereo” button on the remote, and if you look after pressing “stereo”, the “surround” light on-top of soundbar will be off.

        I own the YAS-106 which is identical in driver size + amp specs, and have rarely noticed sibilance.
        My other settings I use is; bass extension off, bass level +2. You will notice a big drop in bass, but this is only obvious if you listened recently with bass extension on.
        I felt there was too much bass overall (which was making the sound less clear) and so I found enough bass with just raising the bass level slightly, and when you turn-up the volume for movies it brings out the bass again.

        and there is no equaliser on the Yamaha app.

        In my experience you can do everything in the App with the remote.
        Some higher Yamaha models may have more features, but the YAS-10# models can be fully-controlled with just the remote.

        • 

          tekisei on 10/12/2019 - 22:55

          @thebadmachine: Thanks for your help so far, but t this point I'll probably see if I can return it - TV is fine, but it is not great for music.

          Currently I'm at bass extension off, bass level +1.

          In my experience you can do everything in the App with the remote

          Yes I agree, the app doesn't expand speaker functionality significantly.

          Are you also familiar with the Edifier range of products? Both the R1280DB and R1700BT seem well priced at the manufacturer at the moment.

          • 

            thebadmachine on 11/12/2019 - 17:28

            +1

            @tekisei: That’s a shame, with the YAS-106 music has been fine.

            I have listened to the R1280DB in the past (clear, great sounding & the best at its $100 price-point), but own neither Edifier product.
            I have posted a few deals on both, and always recommend the R1280DB for those who are looking at budget speakers for music / TV with the option of Bluetooth for convenience.
            Most of the Edifier’s also come with treble & bass controls, which it sounds like you will benefit from.

            The R1700BT lacks optical / coax digital inputs. Using the optical input has been reported to provide the best sound-quality. The R1850DB is the equivalent of the next-model up from R1280DB, but it is rarely on-sale.

            Be aware R1280DB is best on a budget, but I would recommend the Edifier S2000Pro & models above if you are serious about wanting great sound quality for music.

            • 

              tekisei on 14/01/2020 - 23:45

              @thebadmachine: The retailer did [rather unhappily] end up accepting the refund for the YAS, and I also bought the R1280DB which is significantly better than the YAS imo.

              No sibilance, much better clarity (the YAS sounded muddy in comparison), and sufficient power. The timber pattern trim on the speakers is a nice bonus.

              The only thing which I found lacking was that the Bluetooth started to get spotty 8-10 meters away (in the same room), but then I suppose the connection range for the YAS Bluetooth wasn't much better anyway.

              Thanks for the recommendation!

              • 

                thebadmachine on 14/01/2020 - 23:59

                @tekisei: Good to hear you enjoying your speakers.
                Yes Bluetooth on the YAS106 I own also gets cutouts when 10m+ away.
                As always enjoy your music.

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  Xc01567 on 17/01/2020 - 07:56

  +1

  Just posting my experience with the latest firmware update to YAS-108 to v5 fixed all my ARC issues I was having with a Hisense TV.
  Highly recommend the firmware update

  • 

    thebadmachine on 17/01/2020 - 13:58

    Thanks for sharing.