Yamaha's YSP-1100 Digital Sound Projector

Yamaha is set to roll with their new YSP-1100 Digital Sound Projector unveiled at CEDIA. Like the YSP-1000 it replaces, the YSP-1100 is said to do a decent job of creating the illusion of surround-sound by bouncing sound off the walls via 40 built-in beam drivers and 2 built-in woofers with 42 corresponding digital amplifiers. However, the YSP-1100 brings a larger sweet-spot than its predecessor, an RS-232 port, IR in/out, component-video in/out, and an improved version of Yamaha's IntelliBeam automated system calibration to adjust the sound for best effect. Yours for $1,699 starting September, if you dare.

[Thanks, Mike P]

[AJerman @ Sep 20th 2006 9:20AM]

Yeah, it's really cheaper than I thought. But how well do they work? I mean, how does this compare to really having surround speakers. These days a surround setup is costing less and less and most homes come with the option of pre-wiring for surround. It would be hard to justify that much on merely aesthetics, especially if it wont perform as well.

[Jamus @ Sep 20th 2006 9:39AM]

Mmmmmmmmm. The first technolust of the day....

I remember their model from last year. It dropped in price. Hopefully this time next year I can actually afford one!

[Steiner @ Sep 20th 2006 10:09AM]

I got the YPS-1000 after my surround system broke down. The quality is great, if you have fairly refelctive walls and don't have an oval as your sitting room. The set up was very simple and did not take long at all.

If you can get it, go for it. I would recommend it to anyone. However I think that if the room is too big the sound will get lost and you start getting an echo effect.

[Biggins @ Sep 20th 2006 10:50AM]

Anyone interested in this should check out the Polk SurroundBar before buying. It's not as dependent on room mechanics as the Yamaha.

http://www.polkaudio.com/homeaudio/products/flatscreens/surroundbar/

[Brian Erst @ Sep 20th 2006 11:32AM]

Your comments: You should also check out the SoundMatters FullStage HD, which is a steal at $599. http://www.soundmatters.com/fullstage.html

It separates the speaker bar from the subwoofer unit. The subwoofer is pretty compact, but because it's separate, it makes the speaker bar that much smaller, while giving you a bigger deep bass sound than the tiny subs in the Yamaha and Polk speaker bars.

CNET reviewed it here: http://reviews.cnet.com/Soundmatters_MainstageHD/4505-7869_7-31694572.html?tag=lst

[iGrooveLA @ Sep 21st 2006 3:00AM]

does anyone have any first hand experience w/the soundmatters fullstageHD? im interested in this.

[Shecky @ Sep 20th 2006 11:50AM]

As others have alluded to, a word of warning: Don't get one of these unless you have a more-or-less square room, with no walls in weird places, and you're willing to put your couch directly in the center of the room. The blurb says they've increased the sweet spot, but I still doubt it comes anywhere near dedicated speakers.

I had a YSP-800 for about six months, and while it looked cool mounted on the wall, the stereo/5.1 separation was crap. Granted, I have a weird living room configuration (it's not square, there aren't walls on all four sides), but I was hoping to get at least some separation. The only person who got any surround benefits was the one who sat on the left side of the couch, straight up (no slouching!), and even then it was negligible.

We ended up selling the thing and going the traditional route. SO much better.

[Dave @ Dec 7th 2006 2:04PM]

Just want to make sure, My family room is 13 x22 and two of the 4 walls ( rear opposite the TV) and 1 side basically dont exist as architecturally it is very open with 20 foot ceilings. If I read you correctly , your thoughts is that it is bad choice for this type room ?

[cagedog @ Sep 20th 2006 12:57PM]

I have the smaller version of this, the YSP-800 which only has 23 little speakers. I FREAKIN' LOVE IT. When you set it up, it comes with a microphone that you attach to the front of it and place in your favorite seat, then you start the auto-setup process and get out of the way. You'll get goosebumps during this process as you hear sound bouncing off the walls -- it's sooo cool. It listens to the sounds it's making and adjusts the direction of each little speaker accordingly. My living room isn't perfect for it (my couch is right up against the back wall) but I didn't want to string wires all over the place so I got this. I highly recommend it.

[websparc @ Sep 20th 2006 2:12PM]

It's HUGE

[1touchmovie @ Sep 20th 2006 8:38PM]

Pioneer showed something similar to this a few years ago at either CEDIA or CES, I don't remember which. The CEDIA Expo sure has grown up. This was my 9th CEDIA Expo, either as an exhibitor or as an attendee. There was, as usual, some really great stuff, and the quality of the booth girls wasn't bad either! If they can just get the Blu Ray / HD-DVD debacle all figured out, we'll have some fantastic source material for all the 1080p displays that are available. Video servers have really come into their own, as most of the projector manufacturers were using them for their demo material. Constant height displays using anamorphic lenses and video scalers, once strictly a tweak for high end home theater maniacs, is getting to be more mainstream, as at least five projector manufacturers and Stewart Filmscreen showed anamorphic systems. They'll still set you back the price of a decent dirt bike though. There is a CEDIA Expo 2006 report, with photos and reviews, here:
http://www.1touchmovie.com/CEDIA_Expo_2006.html

[AdamC @ Sep 22nd 2006 12:02PM]

First off, I had the YSP 1000 and have to say, the unit was amazing!! The only reason I got rid of it is because the 1100 came out with the "larger sweet spot" and I was still within the store's 30 day return policy. I had mine hanging on a wall above my tube TV and although the sound was good after the auto calibration, as with most home theater, it was unbeliveable after fine-tuning it in the advanced setup mode. (took a couple of hours, but well worth the time)

Second, I did an extensive amount of research and went to many stores to see and hear for myself which one speaker solution would be the best for me. I was coming from a 5.1 Sony ES and Paradigm Refremce system in my house in college so I wanted something somewhat compareable in sound but able to move from apartment to apartment without tearing up any carpet/walls etc.

The problem with the Polk sound bar is that it doesn't have a built in amplifier/digital signial processor or dolby (you have to buy an amplifier seperate, along with decent speaker cable). Also, you literally have to be right in front of the speaker for it to give a good surround feeling (even says so on the polk audio website. Soo, if you watch TV by yourself then this is a good choice, but if you are like me, and watch TV with other people, the soundstage is much better with the Yamaha. Trust me, I tested everything. And my room is not idealy set up either, I am missing a wall and the unit is in the corner of the room.

Lastly, you can get the new YSP 1100 for $1200 from J&R right now, throw the recomended Sub @ $120 and free shipping on both, and I am now listening to a system that is just as good, if not better than my previous dedicated 5.1 system that cost me 4-5 times as much as the yamaha. (And the sweet spot really is bigger) I have full surround in the room, and better than anything else out there. The sound actualy sounds like it is coming from the other side of my walls. Soundstage is extremely broad.

If anyone on the forum has any more questions about the Yamaha, or the polk, or bose systems, I would more than happy to help. [e-mail]

[Keith Fwcett @ Jan 21st 2007 12:53PM]

I read your comments regarding the YSP-1100 digital sound projector with real interest because I am trying to get surround sound into my Family Room without the exposed wires and speakers all over as necessary for a dedicated 5.1 system. Wife appeal, her approval, and living with her are prime necessities !. (lol)

The shape, features of the room, TV location, and listening/seating locations are real problems. The room is 18'-0" x 15'-0" with the 15'-0" wall missing between the Dining Room, Kitchen and Stairs to lower level. The ceiling is 9'-0" and flat. The closed end wall is corner mounted TV with built in cabinets/shelving unit. Fireplace is in centre of end wall, with matching built in cabinets/shelving units beside the fireplace completing the end wall. Listening and seating area is in diagonal corner of room to the TV, approx. 15'-0" away.

I have tried the Bose 3.2.1 Series II, and the Polk SurroundBar in this room with little (if any)
satisyfing 3D surround sound effects, although they did improve the stereo sound as compared to the sound from our Sharp 37" LCD TV speakers. I have listened to the older Yamaha YSP-1000 sound bar in rectangular showrooms. Although it sounded good for a one box system, it did not sound good enough to separate me from my cash so that I could try it at home, particularly with their small "sweet spot" and requirements for rectangular enclosed rooms, etc.

Yesterday, I listened to the the new YSP-1100 system. What an improvement. True, it was in a rectangular showroom, but the back wall had large double doors which were left open. One of My test DVDs for 5.1 surround sound is "Matrix". I played scenes 29 and 32. I could hardly believe my ears!. The sound stage was incredible. The sound was crisp, clean and clear, yet totally submersive. Dialogue was clear for a change. For example, in the Lobby shoot out scene, clearly audible were the clinking of the empty shell casings as they hit the floor, the sound effects of bullets, were distinct from the whizz of shrapnel and the falling noise of debris. Again, in the elevator scene, the words Reeves whispers just before he shoots the elevator restraint are understandable. The blown out door whizzes convincingly over your head. In the rooftop scene, the first dodged bullet (if we could dodge bullets) whines by your left ear and zips behind you. The helicopter rotor sounds are full, deep and realistic above you. The helicopter sound moves in (above) the room as the helicopter moves and so on....... I have only experienced such realistic sounds and effects in such believable nature from dedicated 5.1 individual speaker systems. This Yamaha YSP-1100 system is awesome. I felt like I was right there, in the room or on the rooftop, like I was submerged in a bubble of sound, immersed in and part of the action. What a great sound experience from outside a single box . The sound also did not seem to be contained by the showroom walls, but to come from outside(beyond) the walls. This is the surround sound effects that I have been looking for for my Family Room and TV!....but without the mess.

Do you think the sound from your corner mounted TV/YSP-1100 Speaker placement would give this good sound effects? I will buy you the DVD "Matrix" so that you can try it (lol) . I cannot get the showroom(s) here to corner mount the TV/Speakers so that I can listen to a less than perfect room setup before I buy. Also, I am within 3 days of being able to exchange a Pioneer Elite VSX-81TXV A/V Receiver ($798.00) plus cash on the YSP-1100 system through the SoundsAround Store here in Calgary, Alberta. I had purchased the Pioneer AVR to test the Polk SurroundBAR; or install separate 5.1 speakers if necessary. I do not want to tear the house apart to hide wiring and speakers etc. to satisfy my wife and make the room look OK IF the YSP-1100 would be almost as good in this configuration.

I would appreciate any thoughts and any informational help you can give me on the YSP-1100 system from your experiences and how the YSP-1100 may function in my room placement situation. I have to make my decision and exchange by Wednesday,
Jan.17/2007.

Hope someone can shed some light on corner functioning of this unit.

[OhCanadaNow @ Feb 9th 2007 4:46AM]

Hello Keith,

Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier....my old email account was shut down by my old university. I hope everything with you system has worked out for the best. I actually took some time to see what the speaker would sound like in a corner firing location like the one you described in your comments (see my extra comment(s) added under OhCanadaNow) Good to see a fellow canadian on the site...

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to email me at [e-mail]

I know its a brutal email and UserID, but I got them when I was 13, a long time ago...

Happy to Help,

Adam

[OhCanadaNow @ Feb 9th 2007 4:34AM]

This is a follow-up review to the one I posted above. And also to answer the question with regards to corner mounting the unit, or mounting it in any room that is not rectangular/square in shape. For sh*$ts and giggles I decided to test the speaker in a corner location just to see what the sound would be like and if I would be able to fine tune it to my liking using the advanced setup. After having gone through the setup and getting the soundstage just the way I liked it, I actually found the sound to be just as good, if not slightly better (couch was not backed up against the back wall) than having it setup firing parallel to the wall.

The thing that I really can't emphasise enough is how AFTER using the microphone auto setup, by going into the advanced setup and sitting in the general area in which you will be enjoying the majority of your music/movies/tv, you can go through the different firing angles of every speaker and get them to his the exact spot you want (there is a test tone of white noise that you can literaly move around the room). Although this can be time consuming at first....it is well worth it.

If anyone has any more questions or comments for me, my email has changed and I can be reached at [e-mail]
Just a bit of a Top Gun obsession as a kid....

[Keith Fwcett @ Feb 9th 2007 11:53AM]

Hello AdamC/OhCanadaNow (Feb. 09/2007)
Just received your comments with thanks. I purchased the Yamaha YSP-1100 Jan.22/07. Appreciate your help!. Will use your tips to tweak my system and get back to you.
Keith

[Keith Fwcett @ Feb 9th 2007 11:37AM]

Hello AdamC/OhCanadaNow (Feb. 09/2007)
Just received your comments with thanks. I purchased the Yamaha YSP-1100 Jan.22/07. Appreciate your help!. Will use your tips to tweak my system and get back to you.
Keith

[Paul @ Apr 12th 2007 6:36PM]

How do you think the YSP-1100 would fare with a seating arrangement where sofas are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the Sound Projector?

[OhCanadaNow @ Feb 9th 2007 4:39AM]

Sorry, the comments above that were from me as well were the ones labeled as having been from AdamC

AdamC & OhCanadaNow are the same...

[e-mail] - NOT [e-mail] as in my earlier post.

[Imacanucktoo! @ Mar 8th 2007 3:56PM]

I've been reading with interest the comments on the YSP-1100 on engadget.com. I'm probably typical in that I am looking to replace my 5.1 system with something with less of a footprint, yet want to retain the superior acoustic qualities for movies and music. I don't think my room config would pose any difficulties - couch dead center in front of the tv on the opposite wall, and the two walls perpendicular each have door openings. The only issue may be that one of the walls perpendicular to the couch has a wide french door with not much wall to bounce anything off of.
My purpose for this post is to ask about the 1100's i/o's. Curiously it doesn't have HDMI. Does this not limit its use with HD sources (such as HD cable boxes and DVDs)? Or is it an option to wire those units directly to the TV with HDMI (for video) to get to 1080 resolution and connect the same to the speaker system using component? Hmmm....

[jimmyjones @ Feb 15th 2008 7:01AM]

Two days ago I bought one YSP-1100 for my home and now I am facing a delicate problem. I have a Pioneer VSX 2016 amplifier and I really don't know how to connect the Yamaha to it, ¿any idea?