Customer Ratings & Reviews

Had Polk Mini but the subwoofer keeps failing even after three returns . I needed a small sound-bar and decided to go for the Yamaha but it has weak sound,no base...you get what you pay for .I returned it too .

At just a bit under two feet this little baby soundbar can slide and disappear under almost any TV and improve your sound by a huge margin. The sound is clear with no distortion, even at the higher levels. The downside is that it just can't get as loud as a larger bar, granted it has way more power than most would need in a normal room. The soundbar includes a 3" "subwoofer." I put that in quotes because so many speaker makers are tossing the word "subwoofer" around like cell phone companies throw out the word "unlimited." The tiny speaker is just a woofer. It can't output the sub frequencies. I couldn't fine any documentation on frequency response but I'd be surprised if it really does hit subwoofer levels. That said I do find the mid-bass output acceptable. It doesn't muddy up vocals or clip or distort on high bass music. While it won't win an award for the low end, it's good enough to not disappoint. You have two options to control the soundbar: the included remote or an app. I did use the app a bit but I'm not a fan of touch screens for remotes. I like buttons I can feel so I can navigate in the dark without have to actually look at my remotes. It has all the functions of volume, on/off, mode switching, etc but it's not my thing. Plus I don't trust most apps as so many are data hijackers now-a-days. IMO stick with the standard remote. Stereo separation was pretty good for such a narrow speaker. Playing a few games I could actually hear the location of shots left and right. The surround sound did nicely but of course no virtual surround will replace real surround for pinpointing your opponents. I'll toss this under my monitor and try it out on some PC gaming later. There are enough types of connectors that most users won't have a problem directing sound to the bar. HDMI ARC should be the preferred connection as it has the highest bandwidth for the best quality sound and virtual surround. It would have been nice to add a sub out to hook up a real subwoofer as it would help give that extra punch that some might like, especially in action flicks. As it is it's a nice bar and well worth getting if you're limited on space.

Piece of trash. Sound bar came with NO remote and becauss it was open box excellent condition no one at Best Buy is willing to help.

I think you will agree that this is a 5 star unit if your expectations align with the reality of what you are bringing home. This little Yamaha sound bar is just what I needed. I have an older HD TV that I had recently upgraded to a newer 4K unit. I relocated the old TV to another room in the house. I was looking for an affordable, small, simple soundbar to enhance the terrible built in speakers of that older TV. This fit the bill perfectly. It has a very nice sound considering its size. Very clear and plenty loud. You aren’t getting a massive surround sound experience. There is no stand-alone subwoofer to rattle the pictures on your wall and no satellite speakers to make you feel like you are in the middle of the action. If that’s what you are looking for, you likely won’t be happy with this soundbar. That said, if you are looking for something super easy to set up that gives you a nice upgrade from internal speakers of your TV but won’t break the bank, this is for you. I used the included digital optical cable to connect the soundbar to my TV. I quite literally just plugged in the power and the optical cable and it just worked. I didn’t have to do anything at all. It also supports HDMI or AUX connection if you don’t have the optical option or just want to go another route. Please note that the only included cable is optical. The soundbar has a few presets for you to play with that are easily identified on the remote. I prefer the standard mode, but there is also a stereo mode along with movie and game modes. They all sound fine, just slight tweaks to the equalizer settings. There is a bass boost that I turned all the way up. I felt like it helped support the sound with a little more bottom range. It isn’t boomy, so don’t expect it to shake the fillings out of your teeth. It also has a clear voice feature that enhances the dialogue. I found it useful. I don’t hear as well as I used to…too many concerts, I guess. It helps me understand what’s being said a little better when there is background noise. The soundbar also works as a Bluetooth speaker. It was very easy to connect. I simply clicked the Bluetooth button on the soundbar remote, and then opened up my connections on my cell phone. The Yamaha audio device was right there in the list. I selected it and it paired without issue. Nice clean stream between my phone and the soundbar. I really don’t have anything to complain about on this one, and that’s saying something. It’s inexpensive, it is miles better than the internal speakers of my TV, it has just enough features to be fun to play with while not being complicated, it’s really small, and the setup required zero tech skills. I would definitely recommend this unit. Just know what you are buying and don’t expect more than you should at this size and price point.

We own a full size Vizio sound bar that works great with a TV that has extremely poor sound. It is much bigger than this sound bar. The Yamaha compact size is a plus for small spaces but quality suffers. The SR-C20A is designed for a small room. There is also a built-in subwoofer. You will need a HDMI cable to connect to your TV and that isn’t included. If you have an ARC compatible HDMI input on your TV, installation is a breeze. The Quick Start Guide has pictorial and written instructions that are very clear and helpful. You can wall mount or just set on your TV stand. You can connect up to 2 devices with Bluetooth and it was easy to setup. I streamed i-Heart radio from my phone and the sound quality was very good. This sound bar does NOT work with Alexa, Google or Siri. But you can use an app to control it. I also found that the Amazon Fire TV sideclick / remote auto connected to the soundbar. Probably because I used the HDMI ARC input connection. DTS Digital Surround is missing from this sound bar and it shows. Out of the box the bass was so deep that it was hard to distinguish voices. Once I disabled the Bass Extension it was much clearer. A few more tweaks in the modes and settings and I turned it back on. Then the voices were much clearer but still not up to the quality I expected. Modes: Standard – worked best for most content Movie – voices were a little more muddled on this one Game – not impressed, standard mode worked better for games Stereo – worked pretty well but no surround playback Settings: Clear Voice – a must if you want to hear dialog better Bass Extension – it really boosts the bass As a computer speaker it works very well but you have other options that would be much cheaper. The Remote buttons are well labeled and defined except these 2 buttons: INFO - Shows information such as the type of audio signal being played and the settings for the sound bar’s functions. DIM - Switch the brightness of the indicators of the sound bar. Pros: Compact size Quick Start Guide is helpful Remote with clearly labeled buttons Sturdy and well built Cons: Voices aren’t as clear and crisp as other sound bars The louder the volume, the more distortion Pricey for the quality and features NOTE: I received this product in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

As soon as you pick up the box for the Yamaha SR-C20A sound bar with built in subwoofer you know that it is pretty compact. Looks can be deceiving especially when it comes to this sound bar. The sound bar measures roughly 24" W x2.4" H x 3.75" D. At these dimensions you can clearly see that the sound bar can easily be placed in the most compact areas. It fit perfectly under my computer monitor allowing me to easily use it as an all in one speaker system for my pc without sacrificing additional space under the desk for a subwoofer. The sound bar includes a basic remote that allows you to switch modes and inputs with ease. The modes that are available on the sound bar are TV, optical(via optical port). Bluetooth and Analog(via 3.5 mm jack). The sound bar does have an HDMI ARC port which essentially lets you use one cable for audio input and output. So you can basically use the sound bar as an audio output for any peripherals you have attached to the tv via HDMI . The sound bar has a few preset sound modes that include stereo, standard movie and game mode. Each mode is optimized to provide the best sound profile for the provided task. The clear voice option enhances the voices and allows you to hear dialogue much better. The sound quality of this little sound bar is quite surprising and even the bass it provides is surprising provided the compact size. I never found it necessary to turn the sound up too high on the sound bar due to its great performance. However if you do decide to turn volume or bass up to high you will notice that the sound bar will struggle to output high quality sound. The Bluetooth mode allows you to connect to 2 devices simultaneously with ease allowing you to stream music at any time from any device with Bluetooth capabilities. I was easily able to switch back and forth from my computer and my phone while they were simultaneously connected to the sound bar. You can also download the Yamaha sound bar remote app and control the sound bar from your phone with a simple app interface. In all reality this sound bar will not replace a full sized sound bar with a stand alone subwoofer however for those who are looking for a solution for a secondary TV or lack the space necessary for a larger setup then you have found a cost effective compact solution to enhance the sound on your TV. I would definitely not hesitate to recommend the Yamaha SR-C20A over competing similarly sized sound bars on the market .

First things first - you shouldn't be going for this speaker if you want a surround sound home theater setup with sound quality to sweep you off your feet. It's just a speaker with a handful of inputs and a Bluetooth connection. That being said, it's a good speaker. I don't have any large spaces to test it in so I can't speak to it on that end, but for small spaces it sounds great. Additionally, it's fairly versatile - there are two optical inputs, an HDMI ARC connection, and it can be connected to two Bluetooth devices. However, the decision to not include an HDMI ARC cable in the package was a little... odd. The sound quality is pretty good. Depending on your setting, there's some pretty good bass or clarity (the system has settings to enhance voice or bass boost). It doesn't quite have the kind of deep, throbbing bass you can feel in your chest... but again, it's not a home theater, and it's not extensible to allow you to use it as such. For the niche in the market this thing occupies, it's pretty good. The place where this speaker system really shines is in gaming. For music, it's okay, but I found the sound quality a little lacking compared to some headsets I've used and even a pair of PC speakers. Weirdly enough, the sound quality seems to be approximately on par with the latest Google Nest Mini, except louder. But for gaming, it actually sounds really great. It's got fairly good directional sound, and there's enough clarity that I can hear what's going on in the game even if the music gets pretty intense. When playing an FPS, I can hear what's going on around me well enough that I can easily respond. I can even still hear dialogue well when listening to constant sound effects like gunfire or explosions. And THAT is where I think this sound system really shines. This speaker leaves a bit to be desired. Having it work better with HDMI passthrough would be really sweet, but I guess it makes sense that it doesn't with the small size - this thing can fit easily under a large PC monitor, so I guess there isn't really much room to add a bunch of ports to support that. Additionally, I really would have appreciated more than just a power cord and a single optical cable to go with it. Also, I kind of hate the remote - I can't seem to get it open so I don't know how I'm going to change the battery, but at least it has good Bluetooth control to compensate for that. Finally, a display on the front would have been a bit nicer than having all of the LEDs flash in different patterns. All in all, though, I can forgive all that. It's a really good speaker, as long as you don't try to make it be something it's not. You're not going to get movie-theater sound out of this. But if you want a simple speaker for gaming and maybe watching TV in a small room, this seems to work pretty well.

Bought this as open box (excellent) with a nice savings, but it stopped working after 3 weeks, 1 week after they have a zero-tolerance return policy. Won't be shopping at Best Buy again

Could not connect soundbar to T. V. even with Geek Squad assistance. Bar works with Bluetooth but I have Sonos speakers for music. 1 year old TV and new soundbar should be an easy setup. Neither hdmi nor optical cable worked.

Yamaha has some quality audio equipment out there and this soundbar can be added to the list of quality audio equipment from Yamaha. The Yamaha SR-C20A is surprisingly packed with an enormous sound for its size. The height and width of this product is 2.5in x 23.63in. A very compact device that can fit on your entertainment center or your office desk. I used the soundbar as an external speaker for my PC. The soundbar is perfect for someone who is limited on space. I placed the soundbar on my desk and it perfectly fits in front of my monitor. And wow, does it work great! Movies, games, and music all sound fascinating with the Yamaha SR-C20A soundbar. The soundbar came with a remote control, a digital optic cable, the AC adapter/power cord, and a mounting kit if you want to mount the soundbar on a wall. The remote control has various features that only enhance the sound of this soundbar. The top row is used to switch between input modes, TV, Optical, Bluetooth, and Analog. Below those buttons are the Clear Voice and Bass Extension modes. The Clear Voice mode works wonderfully with movies. Sometimes the music in the background overpowers the actor’s voices and little dialogue can be heard, when enabling this mode, voices are clearer and more profound. Enabling Bass Extension mode boosts the deep bass sound coming from the soundbar. This mode I found ideal when listening to music. Below the Clear Voice and Bass Extension modes, there are sound modes. These modes can be used to enhance whatever content you are viewing/listening to. These modes are Stereo, Standard, Movie, and Game. Game mode enhanced my gaming experience by bringing out those low sounds that can be hard to hear such as when an enemy is walking in the bushes. I tested this soundbar while playing the new Assassins Creed Valhalla and have had a wonderful experience so far. Under the sound modes are is the ability to adjust the subwoofer button, an info button, a dim button, a mute button, and the volume button. The soundbar feels built well and the LED lights in the front are extremely helpful in seeing what modes are enabled/disabled. The LED lights are also helpful in viewing what level of volume the soundbar is at. There are a couple of touch controls on the top of the soundbar that I found convenient. The first control is used to easily switch between the three inputs and Bluetooth. (TV, Optical, Analog) The next two are volume control. And finally, a power button. I don’t have anything negative to say about this soundbar. After using it for a couple of days I have yet to experience problems with it. Although, the AC adaptor is a bit tough to not only find a place for but hide due to the size of the thing. Overall, if you need a small bar that doesn’t take up a lot of space and packs a great sound, the Yamaha SR-C20A soundbar is something that I definitely recommend.

The Yamaha SR-C20 offers high sound quality, plenty of volume for a small room, and solid build. Whether it’s worth $150 is something only you can answer. The SR-C20A is simple to set up out of the box; turn it on and it’s ready to pair with Bluetooth, or the HDMI, analog, and dual optical inputs offer any connection you might want. Construction is what you would expect from Yamaha audio equipment – nothing about it feels cheap. The remote control is Spartan (that’s a compliment), with just a few easy to understand buttons, no learning to land the Space Shuttle feel. The “clear voice” button does exactly that, making dialogue stand out without it sounding as if the speaker is in a barrel. The sound is great, with clear, crisp highs, balanced mids, and a surprising amount of bass response for such a small unit. The bass also sounds natural, not forced or overdone like with some speakers. The speaker arrangement offers a wide soundstage, and you’d swear the speakers must be farther apart than the 23” unit would allow. One caveat; at first, I had the SR-C20A sitting very low, and the sound was disappointing. When I moved it higher up, the sound improved quickly and markedly. As far as surround sounds, like with other soundbars, I simply cannot hear the surround effects that others say they hear. All the sound seems to me to be coming from the front. This isn’t a knock on the Yamaha, it’s the same on my (very expensive) Harmon Kardon soundbar. If you’re in any way constrained by space, this compact Yamaha unit is a great choice. Connected to my computer, it’s an outstanding upgrade to my home office sound.

Sounded like a plastic box. Returned as soon as we plugged it in.

Lacks bass not very loud, ending up returning product

Voice isn't as good as it should be, not natural sound

If you're not happy with your tv sound and are looking for a simple inexpensive upgrade this is a good choice. Also good for pc/gaming sound as it's pretty compact and won't require much wiring like many other options. HDMI cable NOT included but does come with an optical cable and also has a 3.5 mm connection and bluetooth. Good sound for music but not real loud. Simple pairing with phone via bluetooth and fair bass for it's compact size. The free app is ok as it gives you the remote functions on your phone. The included remote is pretty nice though so the app isn't required. My only complaint is the lack of a surround effect which my tv seems to support better. I will probably keep using my tv sound because of this. But my tv also supports internal speakers + optical so this is another option. But I will likely use it for pc gaming and music in my office/spare bedroom.

I recently purchased a new TV. My previous tv was 55 inches. I upgraded to 65 inches. I was in the market for a soundbar at an affordable price. I always knew Yamaha was a good reliable brand. The packaging is simple: soundbar, optical cable, and power cord. It's a combination soundbar it has a subwoofer and regular speakers. I was skeptical since it was small and didn't look like it had a lot of bass power. I was surprised at how well it performs after watching some action movies. It didn't blow me away but it handles the lows and highs well. I decided to use both my computer speakers and soundbar to play audio simultaneously to give it that extra boost. I don't think this speaker is powerful enough for my 65-inch tv, but it does okay considering I live in a studio, but if I had a home with a large living this would not be loud enough; that is why I recommend this soundbar for tv's 55 inches or higher. Bluetooth works well. I can use Spotify from my phone without a problem. Also, I did have a difficult time using one controller to use both the soundbar and tv. I ended up using Bluetooth to connect with my tv so I can use both products with one controller. Overall, I am pleased with the soundbar. It's just enough loudness for my studio. I would recommend for tv's below 55 inches not for bigger tv's. It's compact design makes it a great soundbar. I recommend for smaller tv's

One speaker quit working after a few months. Difficult to get the warranty RMA

It works, but the audio is extremely muffled sounding. Coming from Yamaha, this is kind of a disappointment. The companion app works okay sometimes but even with tuning some of the settings on the speaker itself and on my phone’s equalizer, still does not have a good sound.

Returned it, didn't like the cloth around it. Dust collector.

This Yamaha soundbar is pretty good with above average sound and some good features. Out of the box the unit is smaller than some other soundbars and that is not a bad thing. It is fabric wrapped and has a nice construction feel about it. LED readout is a nice feature. The unit connects in one of several ways. You can connect by Bluetooth, optical, HDMI arc or analog. After connection you can set sound to movie, gaming music and stereo. Another option is something called clear voice which seems to clean up voice sound for clarity. Overall the sound is pretty good with nice bass and treble enhanced with dolby digital sound quality. You have to understand you are not buying true surround sound with these sound bars and if you do then you can evaluate them on that fact. The remote is a bit bulky and old fashioned looking but it does what it is supposed to do. I do like that clear voice option button. Yamaha has an app for this sound bar and it too is "OK". Not many features to the app but it is nice to have the app has an option. Overall the sound bar is pretty good with above average sound and the build quality you expect and appreciate of Yamaha.