Yamaha YSP-4300, 3300 and 2200 Soundbar Comparison

    

  I’m guessing YSP is an acronym for Yamaha Sound Projector but I’m certain these soundbars utilize an algorithm and a series of speakers managed by digital sound processors to decode source material (movie soundtracks, music, gaming and content from smart HDTV’s which now may include VoIP like Skype, Vonage and others) and send them into your room, bouncing off the ceiling, the floor, walls and furniture to create a virtual psychoacoustic surround sound experience. 

  What?

  Well, I care about such things but you don’t have to. The bottom line is, you can get nearly the same surround sound immersive experience from these soundbars that previously required separate front left, center, right, rear left and right speakers and a subwoofer - not to mention the cabling and amplifiers. Even at these premium prices (there are many soundbars that cost much less), there are significant savings over separates. The 4300 and 3300 include the same wireless subwoofer, while the 2200 includes a smaller wireless subwoofer. Yamaha considers all three models to emulate 7.1 surround sound. For those that are counting, that would be:

1 – center channel (most of the dialogue and other sound that is localized to the center of the picture)

2 and 3 – front right and left (dialogue and other sound coming from stage right or left)

4 and 5 – rear right and left (sound coming from far right and far left – also used to sweep sound dramatically from one direction to the other)

6 and 7 – Surround back right and left (Sound emanates from fully behind the listening position. Also allows for the effect of a fly-over – think helicopters. planes or a monster sneaking up from behind you!)

.1 – The subwoofer. Discrete Bass information or extrapolated bass is isolated from the rest of the soundtrack, music or gaming sound source and is amplified separately and sent wirelessly to a separate subwoofer. Yes, the audio signal is wireless however you still need to place the subwoofer near an electrical outlet as power is required for the amplifier located within the subwoofer (that is what is referred to as active or powered). Bass is mostly omni-directional, meaning placement is more forgiving as the sound will emanate evenly from the speaker. A good rule of thumb is to place the subwoofer in your favorite seating location while playing a movie, music or game and then walk around to the spots in your room where you can locate the subwoofer (reverse placement technique). When you find it, put the subwoofer there, plug it in and your done!

  Something’s missing … Well, the good news is, what's “missing” are the wires and amplifier(s) or receiver. The bad news is, these soundbars are also missing Bluetooth. There is an optional accessory called the YIT-W12 that plugs into your source (like your iPhone or Android smart phone or tablet or … ) and then wirelessly transmits the signal as a source to the soundbar. This is clunky and unacceptable given the proliferation of Bluetooth and the consumer’s desire to stream content to a soundbar. But don’t stop reading. If that’s not important or if you don’t really need to do this, these are among the best soundbars available. 

  What are the differences between the 4300 ($1,899), the 3300 ($1,599) and the 2200 ($999)?

  Aside from the price, the differences are power, number of speakers and size of the subwoofer in the case of the 2200. The 2200 also has 3 HDMI inputs while the 3300 and 4300 each have 4. Not so important now, but what may become important in the near future: The 4300 and 3300 support 4K pass through, the 2200 does not. In a typical set-up, your video source(s) will be routed through the soundbar, thus the 4 or 3 HDMI inputs x 1 HDMI output. With 4K supported, the full resolution will pass through the soundbar. Without this, 1080 will be your max. Lastly, the 2200 does not have an option (from Yamaha) to wall mount the soundbar although if you really want to, I’m sure you can rig one up or have someone do this for you.

  Here are the details on power and speakers:

YSP 4300 has 324 W total power: 2 watts driving 22  beam drivers + 75 W  driving 2 woofers in the soundbar plus 130 W separate wireless subwoofer

YSP 3300 has 262 W total power: 2 watts driving 16 beam drivers + 50 W driving 2 woofers in the soundbar plus 130 W separate wireless subwoofer

YSP 2200 has 132 W total power: 2 watts driving 16 beam drivers with a 100 W input power capacity subwoofer

  Soundbars have come a long way. Initially, they had trouble with open floor plans. Without a wall or walls to bounce sound off of, they had difficulty imaging the surround sound field and localization suffered. That’s the whole point of the immersive experience – to put the viewer or listener exactly where the director wants you or where the music producer or game designer wants you … Advanced processing and overall systems today have overcome this and even in wide open spaces the magic still happens. Yamaha’s proprietary processing is nothing short of magical. I highly recommend their soundbars … but of these three, which would I buy?

YSP 4300

Sound Quality: 9/10 - This is across all types of movies, music and games. The only reason the 4300 doesn’t get a 10/10 is separates still win when considering sound quality only. If the wires and cost are not an issue, go with separates. If you are after a clean look, simple installation and cost savings, soundbars are the way to go and the YSP 4300 is my number 1 choce.

YSP 3300

Do I hear a difference between the 22 drivers of the 4300 and the 16 drivers of the 3300? Yes. Is it a deal breaker? No. Since it’s the same subwoofer, there is no issue there so why not save $300 and make this my number 1 choice? Because it’s only $300 and sound is that important to me. This is still a very good system and full immersion is achieved.  I still recommend the 3300 but I’m parting with the extra $300 and opting for the 4300.

YSP 2200

Why is there a 2200? Purely for budget conscious consumers. Yamaha has adopted the classic “Good, Better, Best” format here but skimping on the subwoofer is never a good idea. With the 2200 they hit the under $1,000 sweet spot and it is better than a lot of competitors at this price. If that is what you want to spend on a surround system soundbar, I definitely recommend the 2200 over the rest of the $1,000 field and I get it … You only spent $1,000 on your 50” HDTV, how do you justify spending more on the sound system? I do. Simply put: sound matters as much as vision to me but I understand this is not the case with others. Therefore I can still whole-heartedly recommend the 2200 for the price. For my money however, I spend the extra $800 (I know, that’s a lot of money), and get the 4300.

Available now at amazon.com, Best Buy, BrandsMart, hhgregg and others.

Manufacturer website: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio-visual/hometheater-systems/digital-sound-projector/?psort=hightolow&mode=compare&selected=421013_421010_187242_