[JohnSantana]

Hi Folks,

I'm thinking to get Yamaha YSP-5600BMK2 Soundbar with NS-SW300 Subwoofer
https://au.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/sound_bar/ysp-5600/index.html

Does anyone own or know if this is a good quality sound bar to listen for high def music and Bluray 5.1 DTS movies ?

Between DTS:X and HDR sound, what's the difference ?

What are the cons or the downside of this Soundbar that you know considering the price is quite high.

Thanks.

 

[WraithApe]

Any reason you're going for a soundbar rather than full 5.1 surround system? I've owned a Yamaha soundbar in the past (not this one), and in my opinion, virtual surround is a poor substitute for the real thing. Maybe in a perfectly cuboid room, with optimum reflection, it could convince you that the sound is coming from behind you, but I never found soundbars to be very effective; really just an upgrade on a TV's built-in speakers. They may have improved a lot since I last used one - admittedly about 7 years ago - but for the price of a top-end soundbar you could rig up a decent 5.1 speaker system.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm thinking to get Yamaha YSP-5600BMK2 Soundbar with NS-SW300 Subwoofer
https://au.yamaha.com/en/products/audio_visual/sound_bar/ysp-5600/index.html

Does anyone own or know if this is a good quality sound bar to listen for high def music and Bluray 5.1 DTS movies ?

 

There's no point in high def music if you can't even get proper stereo separation out of the speakers owing to how L and R aren't even physically that far apart. At least with headphones there is the upside of "not pissing off my neighbours" and "my entire system fits on a nightstand." Add how you get tiny drivers that are too dependent on the sub without even really reaching down far enough so as to minimize the frequencies that the sub has to play (which minimizes localization and distortion given that the sub gain can be set too high as far as the upper bass is concerned but just right for the low bass) where at least headphones get a better response range at the distance they're designed to play at (ie, inches from your eardrums).

 

Soundbars basically have half the disadvantage of headphones while barely having the advantage of speakers. In short, if all you need is to have an easy to set up and compact 5.1 system (that doesn't actually get a proper surround effect, just that you get all channels there) in a spot where you can't set up separate speakers (like a bedroom, or a living room/lounge vs a dedicated HT room), then yes, the soundbar will do well. If you're choosing it for playback of "high def" music, you might as well set up a proper 2.0channel system taking an analogue signal out of a decent BluRay player.

 

[JohnSantana]

Great, thanks, Guys.
After browsing through the AV forum around the internet the YSP5600 soundbar cannot pass through HDR bit rate which means the HDR Bluray movies will not be able to display as HDR, but just normal SDR.

hence, I give it a pass this time in spending $1959 (discounted sound bar price).

 

[ProtegeManiac]

hence, I give it a pass this time in spending $1959 (discounted sound bar price).

 
For that kind of money you could just get real, and decent, 5.0 speakers, then add a bit more for the subwoofer.