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• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  GREAT SOUND BAR – ALMOST PERFECT

  • Tech Insider Network Member
  • Top 250 Contributor

  REVIEW: YAMAHA - SR-B20A SOUND BAR WITH BUILT-IN SUBWOOFERS AND BLUETOOTH - BLACK Best Buy Tech Insider Network GREAT SOUND BAR – ALMOST PERFECT Full disclosure I am a Yamaha Hi-Fi enthusiast. I think that Yamaha makes great sounding equipment from musical instruments to receivers to soundbars (Jet Skis too!). This is the 3rd Yamaha soundbar that I own, and it is the best of them all so far. Especially when paired with a Subwoofer (optional), it can more than hold its own on family Movie night. Overall, especially for the price, you likely won’t be disappointed. This is a very good bar at this price point and probably even worth 2X-3X more. I would much rather have a high quality (sounding) bar like the SR-B20A than a bad sounding system with a bunch of cheap speakers. I just returned another 5.1.4 soundbar that cost 5X the amount in favor of the SR-B20A. Give this bar a try before you move onto really expensive units that don’t add that much to the sound experience. BEST FEATURES - Easy to use and decent sized Remote - Easy to use simple App for a Remote (I prefer it over the remote) - Sub Woofer Out for added bass if desired - Multiple Sound Formats Supported - Strong overall sound stage - Built in Power Supply (no brick just a cord) SETUP Everything works as expected and was easy to setup and use. For modern use, for the most part, you just connect your existing TV ARC HDMI port to the same on the Yamaha SR-B20A. My 6 year old TV instantly recognized the soundbar which allowed me to control the volume with the TV remote, without any additional setup. I find the android app helpful for fine tuning the sound field (movie, standard, clear voice, bass, etc). I use it more than the remote, even though the remote is also perfectly good. MINOR NOTE 1: There is no 3.5 mm analog port on the soundbar. Generally, you don’t need it unless you are connecting very old devices. You could, if needed, for about $20 get a converter that converts analog to optical or bluetooth. MINOR NOTE 2: The bar is really designed to be wall mounted and would look best that way. It works fine on a shelf (as I use it), but then you can’t see the volume lights and controls that are on the top. If you use the APP as your primary remote then this is not an issue. Additionally, typically your TV remote would be used to control the volume. I did not find any real difference when leaning the bar against the wall instead up flat on a shelf. A hard surface below the bar really highlights the bass from the built in subwoofer. THE APP: is really easy to use, and I like it more than the remote. The remote is good, but the app lets you see the current state of your settings instead of only toggle on/off. It is cool in that the same app auto senses “which” Yamaha bar you are close to and changes available buttons to match the capability of that specific bar. I do wish it had a custom “favorite mode”. For example, to watch a movie, 1 Press for Movie Mode, then 1 Press for Surround, then 1 Press for Voice enhancement, then 4 Presses to max out subwoofer, etc. Then to switch back to every day TV I need to turn all those setting off again. Not a big deal, but it would just a nice to have feature on the app. TESTING I ran three tests for music (vinyl and mp3), every day TV Watching, and action movies. MUSIC / VINYL (BLUETOOTH) – Right off the bat is my first little let down. No analog input. I had to use an analog to Bluetooth adapter. Overall, it was better (crisper) than my older similar class, Yamaha ATS-1030 soundbar (about 7 years old). I cranked the SR-B20A up to over 100db and it still sounded great. MUSIC / MP3 (BLUETOOTH STREAM FROM ALEXA) – Very Good / Competent sound throughout the full volume range. Using the remote setting for stereo music makes a good difference in Left/Right separation. I will say the SR-B20A very slightly underperformed my old Yamaha ATS-1030 in the bass department. Listening to Eric Clapton / BB-King – “Riding with the King” the low end was not as pronounced. It was still very good, don’t get me wrong, just not thumping like the older Yamaha bar. Once I activated a separately purchased subwoofer, it was very impressive. Almost as good as a stand-alone receiver with high end speakers. TV VIEWING IN 10 X 20 ROOM (HDMI-ARC) – The SR-B20A excels at everyday TV viewing (HDMI-ARC From the TV). I had to turn down the bass to -4 for everyday use, but especially with Clear-Voice enabled, the sound was great and not too much bass. MOVIE VIEWING (HDMI-ARC) – My go to movie for testing audio is The Avengers. There was good bass and clear vocals, and explosions were good overall. Eventually, I hooked up my old SubWoofer (Yamaha YST-SW012 8-Inch). This really made all the difference for the movie. This is almost as good as my 10 year old 7.1 Yamaha receiver and full size speakers. (minus the rear surround sound of course). If my full receiver (Yamaha RX-V1400) and large speakers rates a 9/10 for movies, then this bar with an optional sub-woofer is at least 8.5/10. Without optional subwoofer I would still rate it 8/10 compared to my full stereo. That is a really good rating for a fraction of the price. After testing the SR-B20A I decided to declutter my family room, and to move my AV receiver and big speakers to the basement and then just use the bar for everyday sound. (it is that good). One last note on Movies. While the bar does decode DTS:Virtual X, it does not decode ATMOS. Since it is not an ATMOS system, that is not huge deal breaker, but it would have been nice to have it as a supported format. I have looked very hard and tried (and returned) several ATMOS bars. They all have various problems and are very expensive. On top of that, their poor rear and height speaker performance makes the soundstage worse than a simple 2.1 bar like this SR-B20A. For my needs the SR-B20A outperforms other expensive ATMOS systems for everyday use. OVERALL IMPRESSION I also have the little brother to the SR-B20A, which I use for a small room and small TV. While that other unit (SR-C20A) does a good job at everything, it does not excel in many areas other than medium to low volume music and everyday TV listening. For a few $ more (range +$20-$40 more), the SR-B20A is easily double the performance of its little brother. It gets louder with less distortion and has deeper bass, even without an additional subwoofer. The SR-B20A supports more decoding formats natively (DTS Virtual X for example). It is just a better all-around bar. The only drawback I have with this bar is the lack of an analog input. (but I will get over it). SUMMARY / CONCLUSION / RECOMMENDATION I would definitely recommend the SR-B20A for a fantastic everyday listening experience. If you are into strong bass this bar is very good as is. If you pair the SR-B20A with a powered subwoofer (I suggest Yamaha of course) then you are not that far away from a mid-level receiver in terms of movie listening experience. For pure music only listening, I still prefer a full receiver and full-sized speakers over a bar. However, you can’t beat the bar for the convenience of everyday use, including movies and Music.

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  This review is from Yamaha - SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and Bluetooth - Black

  TheOffice1234 Posted 5 years ago

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Amazing sound from a soundbar

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  The time had come to replace my old soundbar, so when the Yamaha SR-B20A came available, I was excited. Setup was extremely easy, literally from box to TV in under 10 minutes. Once I had installed it and downloaded the app to get full control of the soundbar, I started to run it through its courses. My first impressions are that this is much louder than my previous one. MUCH louder. Then I connected it to my TV via HDMI and it recognized it immediately, so that also went well. I then used the Bluetooth connection to play music from a voice assistant device which worked wonderfully as well. Alas, there is no analog input, so I can't use my record player to grade those sound impressions. The unit comes with a decent remote of decent proportions. It performs as expected and catches hair and dust from the environment. Get the app for this soundbar! It gives you the most control over the sound so you can customize it to your taste. I also used the soundbar with a gaming console to test the "GAME" mode. It performed adequately once I had set up my preferences. Now we have to talk about the sound. It isn't just loud. It's loud and clear. It can enhance speech and boost bass. I honestly didn't know how much fun a soundbar could be. It can connect to 2 Bluetooth devices and become a great addition to your smart speaker since the quality of sound and volume fills a room with excellent results. I'm happy with this addition to our living room, and knowing I won't have to think about replacing it for a lone time to come...

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  This review is from Yamaha - SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and Bluetooth - Black

  Bill Posted 5 years ago

• Rated 5 out of 5 stars

  Impressive Gaming/Cinema Sound Bar

  • Tech Insider Network Member

  This is the perfect sound bar for someone looking for very capable sound (much better than TV speakers) at a very affordable price. This sound bar punches above it's price segment. While it goes without saying that this certainly won't compete with your 7.1/5.1 dolby atmos home theatre setups, this is still a huge upgrade from your standard TV speakers. The built-in subwoofer does a VERY adequate job of providing deep lows; especially at it's highest setting (this thing is a must for gaming!) The sound bar is very thoughtfully designed. It's an upward firing sound bar so it feels as though the audio really envelops the room. Yamaha carefully placed the LEDs above the sound bar in order to minimize any "light pollution" that one may experience while watching TV in a dark room. It's also very low profile making it ideal to tuck underneath practically any modern TV. I have highlighted pros and cons that I've experienced while using this soundbar: **********PROS********************************************************* - Setup is incredibly easy; either connect an HDMI to an "ARC labeled HDMI on your TV or use the included optical cable. Make sure to enable your ARC input in your TV's menu setting -Thoughtfully designed; low profile with non-distracting LEDs -3D Surround sound for gaming!!! A lot of the newer gen console games have 3D audio support. Sound is incredible for this price point. Respectable built-in subwoofer with deep lows and pretty decent mids and highs. It really shines when paired to a console. I paired this up to my Playstation 5 and it completely changed my experience when playing Demon's Souls -Very small form factor and intuitive remote -Pre-set EQ modes were perfect for my needs (Movie, 3D Surround sound, Standard, Game). Yamaha did a great job of tuning each profile - Built-in subwoofer provides some impressive lows out of such a small driver. No distortion even at it's highest volume level. Yamaha was again very thoughtful with this. There are four volume settings that allow you to turn the bass up or down including bass extension (a bass booster of sorts). This will be a very useful feature for those that live in apartments or are sharing walls and need to be mindful of subwoofer volume -"Clear Voice" EQ profile. This EQ profile boosts the highs and mids for movies that are dialogue heavy (e.g. dramas, comedies) - Yamaha Remote App for Android/IOS. You can pair the app and control all of the functions and settings directly from your mobile device - Bluetooth connectivity. Pair any bluetooth source to the soundbar . I've been using this to play music in my living room as I do the dishes, clean, etc. - Cost. I think this is an outstanding value in terms of what you get for what you pay. Definitely delivers (in terms of sound) above it's price range - When connected via the ARC input through the HDMI cable, the volume is automatically controlled by your main TV remote without you having to set anything up! - Support for external subwoofer connectivity **********CONS******************************************************************* -When you use the mute button there are 3 LEDs that constantly keep flashing. This can be distracting if you quickly want to switch to a pair of headphones and continue watching your movie/content. A quick fix is to just turn the volume down all the way instead - Not an official Dolby Atmos certified soundbar (it supports "Dolby audio", DTS, and DTS X Virtual). However, Dolby Atmos sources still sounded great! -No custom EQ settings for those that want maximum customizability Overall, I highly recommend this sound bar for someone looking for a quick and significant upgrade over their TV speakers but don't want to spend too much. Ideally, it's probably also more suited for small to medium sized living rooms as very large living rooms will probably require more power output (however, I can still see it doing just fine in larger spaces). Also, if you game but don't want to invest in a full fledged 5.1/7.1 home theatre setup or are facing space restrictions, this is a must!

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  This review is from Yamaha - SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and Bluetooth - Black

  k1zit Posted 5 years ago