I ordered the YAS-108 sound bar to use with our recently purchased LG 55-inch E8 OLED TV. The shipment arrived on time and all parts / items were included in the box. The owner’s manual provided easy-to-follow instructions, so I had no problems setting up the sound bar using the HDMI (ARC) connection option.
My first impression of the YAS-108 performance is that it sounds darned good considering its reasonable price tag. Even though the LG E8 has an outstanding internal speaker system, I really appreciate the clarity and spatial balance of a sound bar when watching certain TV programs. No, the YAS-108 is not one of the high-end brands with an external sub-woofer. I bought it because we really don’t need a lot of thundering bass for our smaller upstairs family room.
I also have a Bose Solo 5 connected to our 2016 model LG 65-inch OLED TV that has awful internal speakers. The Solo 5 counters the speaker system deficiency perfectly. The 65-inch TV and satellite receiver are connected to our Yamaha 7.1 channel AV receiver system that is in the downstairs family room. We only use the AV receiver when watching high quality programming and the Solo 5 serves as the primary speaker system. After setting up the YAS-108, the Solo 5 served as a perfect baseline for evaluating its performance. My final verdict is that the Yamaha sounds every bit as good as the Solo 5, if not better.
Before deciding to buy the Yamaha sound bar, I read a lot of customer reviews on various internet forums, paying particular attention to the negative posts. I focused on the negatives because it helped me determine if the issues are user related or actual product shortcomings. Interesting, I determined that a lot of the negatives seemed to relate to simple human nature—like the lack of knowledge, unreasonable expectations, and/or denial.
I’m saying that the first human factor relates to reality--the reality that nothing made by man is perfect. I'm saying that brand-new items sometimes just don't work, i.e., defective. Yamaha products (as well as others) sometimes fall short of expectations. Next thing, the YAS-108 is not a high-end sound bar; it is an economy level device. It will never, ever produce thundering levels of bass. In other words, you can’t get blood from a turnip. Lastly, audio reproduction is, and will always be subjective. It is a matter of personal preference.
I’m just saying that I decided to buy an economical sound bar and it works pretty good (for me). Based on the feedback posted on Websites by others who purchased a YAS-108, I think it is for me good to share what I learned about it (as well as the Bose Solo 5).
1. First and foremost, make sure that the TV/electronics and sound bar firmware are up to date. This certainly helps with compatibility and troubleshooting issues.
2. Use the TV / sound bar HDMI (ARC) connection, if available (my Solo 5 model uses TOSLINK optical only). It appears to be the best route for synchronizing single remote functions. This option worked for controlling the “on and off” function on my devices (TV, satellite/cable set-top box, and sound bar). *** I could not get the ‘on-off’ feature to work using the TOSLINK optical cable connection.
3. Accept the fact that an HDMI (ARC) connection can sometime exhibit strange and inconsistent behavior. This is quite normal across-the-board—not just with the YAS-108. I’m talking about possible random disconnects or device synchronization anomalies--the infamous ‘hand-shake’ thing.
4. There ‘may be’ obvious ‘lag’ behavior between the TV / electronics and a sound bar when first turned on.
5. If the sound bar has an auto-off / sleep feature, read the owner’s manual instructions for enabling/disabling the feature. I found that the YAS-108 would random turn off when the feature was enabled.
Lastly, I’m in a ‘wait and see’ mode as far as YAS-108 reliability is concerned. I can say that I’ve been using Yamaha audio products since 1984 and I believe in them. I decided to buy a Yamaha sound bar based on the very reasonable price and years of confidence in Yamaha performance and reliability. For the money, the YAS-108 sounds darned good to me!!!
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This Item  YAMAHA YAS-108 Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers & Bluetooth |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -18% $229.00 List: $279.95 | $298.00 | -8% $179.99 Typical: $194.78 | -13% $173.50 New Price: $199.95 | -19% $129.99 List: $159.99 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Monday, May 20 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 | Get it May 15 - 17 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 17 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Remote Control | ||||||
| Bluetooth connectivity | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Electronics Expo (Authorized Dealer) | Amazon.com | Amazon.com | Electronics Expo (Authorized Dealer) | Amazon.com |
| speaker size | 88.9 centimeters | 23 inches | 900 millimeters | 2 inches | 5.25 inches | 4.5 inches |
| power source | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | Corded Electric |
| connectivity tech | Bluetooth, Optical, HDMI, Auxiliary | Bluetooth, HDMI, Auxiliary, Optical | wireless, wired | wireless, wired | Bluetooth, HDMI | wired, wireless |
| speaker type | Subwoofer | Soundbar | Soundbar, Subwoofer | Soundbar | Soundbar | Surround |
| mounting type | Bar Mount,On A,Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Wall Mount | Bar Mount | Sound Bar |
| weight | 7.1 pounds | 19.55 pounds | 16.1 pounds | 5 pounds | 7.1 pounds | 3.84 pounds |
| control method | voice | remote | remote | voice | — | remote |
Reviews with images
Sweetness!
I originally purchased a cheapo sound bar thinking it would suffice since I would be using it in my bedroom. WRONG! It was like listening to sound coming of a tin can, it was shrill and schreaching and hurt my ears....infact my TV speakers were far superior. So, I decided I had to buck it up and spend more money....but I didn't want to spend too much. So, I researched, read many reviews of many different brands at price ranges up to 300.00, so this one was well within my budget at 199.00. ( UPDATE!!! Two days after I received mine, the price dropped from 199.00 to 169.00 on Amazon )It was easy to set up out of the box, pretty much plug and play, via the ARC connection with HDMI, it was about 30 seconds to install on my 2015 Hisense 4K TV.Before I go on, I want to mention that I have a really decent home theratre sourround sound system on my 65in 4K TV in my livingroom. It's hooked up to a Denon AVR E400, which pushes my ancient Bose IntraAudio floor speakers and three other no name brand speakers and a Pioneer Sub Woofer. It's NICE, not the top of the line, but enough for me to be a bit spoiled when it comes to audio. I should also say, I'm a female, and I appreciate good sound, and I do all my own research and decide what I like......Anyhow, back to the review. I knew the Yamaha brand for years had a great reputation. When I first heard this YAS-108 sound bar, I thought, OMG!! Are you freaking kidding me?????!!!!!! The sound is tremendous!! Now, remember, this is for my bedroom set-up, and more than I could ask for at this price. The bass is rich and deep, the mid and high tones are handled well, and you can adjust the sound to your liking. It has two built in subs, which is plenty for my bedroom use. I won't be adding a sub-woofer but if you did, I'm sure it would only enhance the already superb sound.I have not wall mounted mine, the sound bar is heavy and substantial, and you may even want to consider mounting it into a stud. For now I have mine situated just below the TV, and unless someone can convince me that the sound quality is better coming off the wall, I will leave it as-is.In closing, I just want to say, if you are on the fence about buying this and you are watching TV with the TV sound, you are cheating yourself out of the full experience. If you are looking for immersive sound at a reasonable price, this is it. Seriously, I would have paid more for this.Pictured below is my set-up, the sound bar is leaning against the wall only for the sake of the picture.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
I ordered this not that long ago. Received it the next day (amazon said a week or so but got it in a day), unboxed it, and slapped it straight on my TV stand!
The bass is surprisingly powerful for it's size. Trebel is great. Not amazing but great. 3D Surround is probably something I'll keep on till this sound bar dies. Bass extension takes it to another level.
Comes with 1 HDMI in and 1 HDMI out. I was upset but, if your TV has ARC, then it'll just grab audio from your TV's HDMI ports. So, don't bother getting upset honestly. Bluetooth is great, can overlap over other things that's playing via ARC, HDMI, etc. Audio via Bluetooth is compressed so it's best to play it using something connected to it (ex: Smart TV, Game console, PC).
If you live an apartment, Don't buy an external sub unless your place is bricked. The built-in subs are already powerful! (With bass extension on)
I've tried the app. It's simple to use. Does the job. Just wish the app had better UI.
Pros: Powerful bass, great overall sound, 3D Surround sound, 6 speakers (2 tweeters, 2 woofers, and 2 subwoofers) built-in for it's price, Remote is great, No distortion at loud volumes.
Cons: DTS Virtual:X.... It's horrible. It's supposed to simulate sound coming from the ceiling. Although it kinnnnnda do..... It really makes the sound really bad. You'll know when it's on when you see the surround LED blue.
You won't be disappointed when you buy it trust me. Yes, I'm an audiophile. No, this doesn't sound mind-blowing. But, for it's price, it's definitely worth it!
Edit as of May 4th, 2019: So far so good everything still works great. Watching movies on this thing is perfect.
Note: to get the soundbar to work on a Samsung TV with ARC, please connect the HDMI out port to the soundbar first. Then connect the other end of the HDMI to the TV. It should word.
The bass is surprisingly powerful for it's size. Trebel is great. Not amazing but great. 3D Surround is probably something I'll keep on till this sound bar dies. Bass extension takes it to another level.
Comes with 1 HDMI in and 1 HDMI out. I was upset but, if your TV has ARC, then it'll just grab audio from your TV's HDMI ports. So, don't bother getting upset honestly. Bluetooth is great, can overlap over other things that's playing via ARC, HDMI, etc. Audio via Bluetooth is compressed so it's best to play it using something connected to it (ex: Smart TV, Game console, PC).
If you live an apartment, Don't buy an external sub unless your place is bricked. The built-in subs are already powerful! (With bass extension on)
I've tried the app. It's simple to use. Does the job. Just wish the app had better UI.
Pros: Powerful bass, great overall sound, 3D Surround sound, 6 speakers (2 tweeters, 2 woofers, and 2 subwoofers) built-in for it's price, Remote is great, No distortion at loud volumes.
Cons: DTS Virtual:X.... It's horrible. It's supposed to simulate sound coming from the ceiling. Although it kinnnnnda do..... It really makes the sound really bad. You'll know when it's on when you see the surround LED blue.
You won't be disappointed when you buy it trust me. Yes, I'm an audiophile. No, this doesn't sound mind-blowing. But, for it's price, it's definitely worth it!
Edit as of May 4th, 2019: So far so good everything still works great. Watching movies on this thing is perfect.
Note: to get the soundbar to work on a Samsung TV with ARC, please connect the HDMI out port to the soundbar first. Then connect the other end of the HDMI to the TV. It should word.
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Silver
Si da la impresión de tener un teatro en casa 5.1 de manera virtual
Reviewed in Mexico on March 5, 2020
Hari
Amazing sound bar for music as well as movies
Reviewed in India on October 15, 2019
NA
Crisp Clear Sound on a budget, not for discerning audiophiles
Reviewed in Singapore on May 19, 2020