Customer Ratings & Reviews

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

I received this product in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. TL;DR - The SR-C20A is a compact, elegant sound bar but creates a big, full sound in small to medium spaces - offices and bedrooms - once you enable the surround mode. It has deep bass that, while not external subwoofer-punchy, reaches very low before dropping off, and is controllable via a phone app, something that other sound bars in this class seem to lack. It has a remote that doesn't feel cheap, unlike some. other options that are similarly priced. There is also plenty of switchable connectivity - optical input, analog (3.5mm aux jack) input, Bluetooth connection, and HDMI ARC (for TVs that support this feature). The more major of its two drawbacks is if you plan on using HDMI ARC to connect this to your TV, it lacks a pass-through so you lose that HDMI port - but don't worry, you don't need to connect this to your TV via HDMI at all as long as you don't care about the automatic power on/power off that HDMI enables. Also, the power adapter is of the "line lump" variety; I like to see integrated power supplies since it gives a cleaner look. All in all, it's a good sound bar with great audio quality and few shortcomings on connectivity and design. Unboxing and first impressions: Pop a couple of seals and tabs on the box and you'll open to find the power cord, an AC adapter (output of 20 volts @ 42 watts/2.1 amps), an optical cable, instructions and other literature (including a template and most of the hardware needed for wall mounting), and a remote all wrapped in plastic. Supported by foam on both ends of the box and wrapped in a soft foam sheet is the sound bar itself. Nothing too extraordinary, though the inclusion of an optical cable is a nice addition. I would have liked to also see an HDMI cable and a set of cables for analog input (3.5 to 3.5 cable and a 3.5 female to RCA L/R male adapter would be nice here). Setup is pretty straight-forward. You pop the battery tab out of the remote, you remote a piece of plastic film from the control buttons on top of the sound bar, you connect the power and whichever input cables you need (I tested out all three inputs and bluetooth), and you'll also want to download the app "Yamaha Sound Bar Remote" to your smartphone. (Note that there is also an app called "Yamaha Sound Bar Controller" that doesn't work with this sound bar.) The SR-C20A itself looks premium, overall. Matte black plastics with a glossy black control center on top and black cloth speaker grill that wraps around the front, sides, and top gives this an elegant look whether it's on or off. The 5 front panel LEDs glow white, with the Bluetooth indicator glowing blue when it's connected to a phone or other device. The LEDs are also used to indicate volume level as you turn the system volume up and down. Using the Sound Bar Remote app, you can turn the indicator LEDs to an off, dim, or bright setting when they're inactive. The remote is good. It's not perfect, but when it comes to remotes that come with sound bars, it's definitely better than what I'm used to seeing. It's roughly the same size as an iPhone 5 series or iPhone 12 Mini, and even though it doesn't weigh a lot, it feels pretty substantial. The plastic is strong, the buttons feel just right for a remote, and the curve makes it comfortable to hold. While I'm not a fan of coin cell batteries for remotes, the CR2025 in it should last a very long time before needing replacement. Usage and performance: Sound quality is good overall, as long as you have one of the three surround sound modes activated. The unaltered stereo mode sounded very "narrow" and lacked bass punch, even with the subwoofer turned up. The three surround modes - Standard, Movie, and Game - each filled the sound out in their own way. Standard mode gave all the music I threw at it - orchestra, jazz, hip-hop, and metal - a feeling of space as you listened, spreading out as if you were listening on a far larger audio system. Movie mode did the same for special effects in Black Hawk Down, the Matrix, and Ralph Breaks the Internet, while clearly defining where the center channel should be in the room. Gaming mode did introduce an even more well-defined center channel but at the expense of the expansive surround of Standard mode not being as strong - not that it's a bad thing if you decide to use this sound bar for your gaming battle station instead of a TV. As far as testing goes, I did put this through its paces with a few movies, some TV shows, gaming on PC, and gaming on an iPhone with Bluetooth audio. TV shows with studio audiences - game shows like Jeopardy, sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond, and even older fare like Full House - gave you the feeling that the actors were in front of you while the audience was behind you as long as you were in Standard or Movie surround mode. Dramas like House and The Morning Show, and the movies I tested with had clear dialog, music that didn't drown out the dialog, and the environmental effects were expansive while in movie mode; with the movies, the effects didn't have the bass punch you'd feel from a separate high-power subwoofer, but you could still hear it. One thing I usually have issues with - musical acts on TV - didn't have the problem I normally have with audio, where instruments drown out the vocals. Playing a few FPS games, you could get a real feel for where the action and your enemies were since the Game mode audio does a good job of helping you pinpoint where things would be. Again, the audio wasn't as punchy as if you were using a speaker set with a high-powered subwoofer, but in this case, it doesn't need to be. As for Bluetooth performance, I'm very impressed. Testing with an iPhone 11, music from Apple Music, Pandora, and SoundCloud sounded good; videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, and Twitch sounded good; but perhaps the most impressive thing was nearly imperceivable audio lag while playing games; many Bluetooth devices have a slight lag and the SR-C20A just did not have one I noticed no matter what I played. It also supports multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, meaning you can have this sound bar connected to your phone and someone else's phone, tablet, or other device that supports Bluetooth audio output simultaneously; however, you'll only be able to play back from one device at a time. Now for the downsides: The power adapter isn't integrated into the unit. If you're placing the sound bar in or on a TV stand that's normally pushed to the wall, or you're connecting it to a wall-mounted TV, you'll need to account for hiding the power adapter. This could be alleviated with a sound bar that has an integrated power supply. This is yet another sound bar with HDMI ARC connectivity but no HDMI input. What this means is if you have a TV with 3 HDMI ports, you lose one as a video input to this. Going a step further, the instruction manual recommends running an HDMI cable between this sound bar and your TV even if your TV doesn't support ARC. Chances are that if your TV doesn't support HDMI ARC, your TV doesn't have HDMI CEC correctly implemented as well. Conclusion: The Yamaha SR-C20A is a solid sound bar. Compared to others in its class, it offers more and better features including switchable inputs, multipoint Bluetooth, an integrated subwoofer, and app control capability. The unit looks great and sounds great. The only drawbacks are the power adapter and the lack of HDMI pass-through. Otherwise, this is the best sound bar I've used in this class in an overall.

I purchased this in store, and I’ve regretted it every since. For the amount of money paid the sound is horrible. I hate it’s too late to return.

First one bricked after a week or two so exchanged it. 2nd one OK until it started exhibiting strange behaviors. Returned it. Must be a quality control issue for that batch.

The Yamaha - SR-C20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofer and Bluetooth is a mighty little soundbar. Right out of the box, I was replacing an existing soundbar & set up was as simple as plugging it in, attaching the optical cable and selecting the correct input- could not have been simpler! Having set up multiple soundbars, setting it up from scratch was unlikely to be much more difficult- the enclosed directions were simple and there’s a YouTube video for everything nowadays, just in case. The soundbar I was replacing also had a “built-in sub-woofer”, but the Yamaha’s is so much better. In addition, the ability to control both overall volume and the bass level separately is handy. I don’t often want my binge watching to be bass heavy, but when paired via Bluetooth for music, it’s nice to pump up the bass. Honestly, the only concern I’ve got is also related to one of its positives- it’s so small that it looks very small under a 50” TV.

Severely outdated/broken ARC controls. Sounds great but ARC was a dealbreaker for me.

I have several soundbars and I was hoping that this would be a big upgrade over one that I picked up a few years ago for really short money. Unfortunately, this soundbar isn’t really what I had hoped for. My biggest beef with this bar is that it is billed as “compact”. What this really means is that it has a shorter overall length than you typically see in a full-sized bar, and I personally only looked at the length and didn’t pay much mind to the other dimensions. Unfortunately the bar is shorter but “thicker and deeper” than my other bars. In practical terms what this means is that while it was short enough to fit the width of the 24” tv I wanted to pair this with in my office, it is so tall that the top of the bar intrudes into the viewing area of tv screen (tv is on its stock legs) and it is so thick it protrudes too far in front to sit on the riser I have the tv on. Shame on me for not being more careful looking at the measurements, but I think it’s worth noting that this bar is not truly what I can consider “compact”. Because of the speaker and controls setup, I wouldn’t think this would be a great bar to hang directly from a wall tv mount either. It seems pretty clear to me that the manufacturer’s intent is that this bar will fit on a sizable tv stand in front of say a 40” tv for people that want a sound upgrade with minimal effort, Not a complaint but worth pointing out this bar also does not have RCA inputs, only HDMI-Arc, Optical cable and Aux 3.5mm. Not a problem for my intended set up but might be for some that want to use this with an older set or receiver. The area for the wired connections is nice and deep so if you do want to wall mount this bar it will easily sit flush to the wall surface. In terms of audio quality, I found this bar average but not exceptional. Without the Bass EXT function enabled I found the audio very thin and tinny. With the function enabled the bass from the included subwoofer was punchy and warm at lower settings of 1-2 but I did find it muddy at 3 and I found it unusable at 4. Playing music with a lot of bass didn’t sound better to me at the higher levels, just bass-ier and even caused the casing to buzz and I ended up backing it off to a 1 or 2. High end volume was pretty good without bad distortion though I didn’t push the bar to its limits, just the limits of what I think I would ever want from it. I had no problems with audio/lip sync with any of the connections, but this wasn’t a surprise as my tests were tv-bar not receiver to bar. The instruction book mentions that there is a mobile app to control the bar so I downloaded it to try out. I love the mobile app for my streaming boxes as it is wildly more functional than the included remotes. The app for this soundbar doesn’t really confer any advantages over using the included remote. All the app provides is exactly what the remote control does and I was a disappointed that there was nothing like programmed, simple EQ adjustments or presets. I suppose it’s a good thing to back up a lost/dead/broken remote but I doubt I will use it much if at all otherwise. Overall this soundbar is not really for me a superior upgrade to a budget bar for a second bedroom/playroom/garage set-up. If fact the best use I found for it was on top of my refrigerator hooked up to a streaming music device and that’s where I will probably be using it for Christmas music for the foreseeable future.

Trash.. This sound bar didn't sound any better than the speakers in the TV

doesn’t fit under the television—-samsung 43 inch TV volume control not transferable to cox remote using ARC HDMI

Worked great for 8 months then it didn't. Just stopped working.

The sound was not any louder then the tv returned right away

DO NOT BUY!!!!! HAVE HAD THIS DEVICE FOR LESS THAN 3 MONTHS AND THE VOLUME NO LONGER ADJUSTS UP OR DOWN EVEN WITH THE FACTORY REMOTE

My favorite soundbar even over Bose. Once you go Yamaha, nothing compares! Bass is so nice too! Best Buy I’ve made! Beyond Superb quality!

I was pleasantly surprised with the Yamaha soundbar. I was a bit worried when I first saw the size. It’s a pretty small soundbar but it packs a punch for its size. The audio from it is very solid good clarity for dialog and it doesn’t distort at loud volumes. It doesn’t come with a subwoofer so the bass does lack a bit of oomph. But for the size it sounds pretty good. This one ended up being put in a bedroom and it doesn’t everything we need there. It’s pretty basic and does not have many inputs so if your in need of a small sound bar for a bedroom I highly recommend this one.

This soundbar is better than built-in TV speakers, but it is not comparable to anything with a true subwoofer. The bass is adequate for a bedroom where someone might want to keep the volume low. However, the high frequencies really seem to be lacking. I tried every mode of sound and could not find an option that made voices sound natural. They constantly sound flat. I tried turning down the bass, but then it sounded more like I was listening in a tin can. I feel like my 5 year old smart speaker has a better sound quality when it comes to high frequencies and natural sounding voices. Setup was extremely easy. There are inputs for HDMI, digital optical, analog, and Bluetooth. The Bluetooth setup was simple. When I set the bar to Bluetooth mode, and had my TV search, the TV instantly paired with the bar. No delays were noticed between audio and video. If someone has a TV with really cheap speakers, I might recommend this bar. However, my TV speakers are not bad enough to make this bar worth the price. If the quality of the bar was better, I would have a different opinion.

As a T.V. added bar of speakers, the Yamaha is a fine support system for people who lose the high and low sounds of the human voice as we age. I can now follow news commentators, dialog in movies and best of all, the music stations. At a reasonable price it certainly is preferred to wearing hearing aids.

If you’re looking for your run of the mill basic, budget friendly soundbar this is it. I never right reviews but was compelled to do so with this soundbar. Its awesome for the price and does exactly what you need it to do. Replace TV speakers with a forward sounding soundbar. Syns up perfectly with my tcl Q7 and my apple TV. Look no further. This is the one to get. Great sound, awesome and loud volume for a budget friendly and affordable price. If you have an apple TV like me by the way, there is no audio lag issues at all. It worked right out of the box after connecting it to an HDMI port on my TV.

I have a nice surround sound sound bar & 7.1 surround sound headset for my gaming PC but wanted a sound bar for my TV as well. I’d been looking at some of them & when I saw Yamaha’s offering I knew I wanted to give it a shot. I have previously owned Yamaha audio products & have never been disappointed. So how does this one stack up? So far it has been GREAT! The App has lots of negative reviews on the iOS App Store but I’ve had good luck with it & the sound bar has been phenomenal. I have been using it to watch normal TV (UFC, football, movies, Netflix, Hulu, etc) as well as listen to music & for gaming. For gaming I’ve really enjoyed it. What got me looking for a sound bar or home theater system is the fact that my PCs sound set up is absolutely amazing but my TV, music & movie watching as well as console gaming set up has been regulated to built in speaking quality using my built in speakers on our TVs. We live in America & that is a NO GO here. So! Now! My sons and I can game in all its glory via this sound bar. The bass is nice & the audio quality is really good for something so reasonably priced. Should you get one? Absolutely!

This small sound bar packs a BIG punch. It sounds amazingly clear and crisp. The built in subwoofer will distort the sound though if it is not adjusted just right. Set up was very easy and worked well with my LG TV and Xfinity cable with no issues.

Great soundbar. Super easy setup. Plug n play. Great addition to tv watching experience. Best Buy price was great. It was a gift and they loved it. Thanks..