Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsIf you must get a cheap soundbar....
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2018
Use Case
I'm not a huge fan of soundbars. I would stick an Onkyo receiver and floorstanding speakers on every AV setup I have, if it was practical. However, I've reached the point where I don't care as much about having great audio on occasional use TVs. TVs generally have awful speakers, so a logical upgrade from a capability, cost, and packaging standpoint would be a soundbar. In my experience, I have found the subwoofer-less solutions to be only marginally better than whatever is built in to the TV. Enter the Yamaha YAS-207BL...
Packaging/Appearance/Build Quality
The YAS-207BL arrived in an odd-looking, L-shaped box (pictured). It was significantly larger than I expected. The speaker units are packed well in foam bags, which are located in styrofoam blocks (pictured). The toughest part of unboxing the item is cutting some packing straps. Once unboxed, you have the soundbar, the subwoofer, a couple power cables, and a bag containing the printed materials, optical cable, and remote. The sub and the soundbar are plain, but handsome. There are anti-skid pads on the bottom of both speakers, and there are screw keyholes for wall mounting the soundbar. If you want to wall mount this item, expect to control resonance vibration with some neoprene pads (not included). You may also have to get creative with your power cord concealment.
Setup/Performance
Setup and operation of the YAS-207BL is straightforward. The subwoofer doesn't require pairing, which saves a step. All of the inputs function as you'd expect. I set my item up using the HDMI ARC, which would be the preferred hookup for a TV (if it supports ARC). ARC allows the TV's volume control to drive the soundbar. The bluetooth pairing also works well.
Since improved sound quality is the goal of any soundbar (over a TV, anyway), here are some remarks on the sound. The sound quality is fine, with plenty of treble, and some mid-bass. What you don't get is sound that's even half as good as a pair of ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 speakers with a cheap receiver (all of which would be around the same price as this setup). The DSP modes are ok, though they don't change the character of the sound significantly. The side-firing, ported subwoofer makes noise, but it's not accurate, doesn't have much frequency range, and isn't capable of much volume.
Special Note - Remote Control
While it's nice that the remote works, it's garbage otherwise. Since just about every useful function is on the remote (input selection, the DSP modes, subwoofer volume, etc.), it's not like use of the remote will be optional (even with CEC and HDMI ARC). The remote looks like something 80's, with its credit card-like form factor, watch battery, and chunky buttons. Extra points off for a lack of button backlighting (or glow in the dark buttons). It also would have been nice if it was an RF remote (rather than infrared)... IR requires line-of-sight which is kind of a bummer since the wireless subwoofer allows flexible placement within the room. Forget being able to place the sub behind furniture, unless you expect to set it and forget it.
Conclusion
The selling points of soundbars are ease-of-use, low cost, and low aesthetic impact deployment. Oh, and the sound is better than the TV that you attach it to. Mission accomplished? I guess so, but a cheapo HTIB (home theater in a box) system (while terrible), is going to sound better than a YAS-207BL. If you have the space or price tolerance for something better, you should probably get it instead. Recommending the YAS-207BL is contingent on you being ABSOLUTELY certain that you want a soundbar, but are on a tight budget.
