Yamaha has had a massive headstart over its competitors and has been innovating ever since. Their sound has been evolving into a much more mature tonality instead of just pow-wow surround. A slight departue from their regular offerings is the new range that features the Air-surround Xtreme technology that simulates a 7.1 channel surround system from a single box and also allows you to shift the virtual sweet spot. This is a new take on the existing yamaha philosophy of a virtual 5.1 soundfield but is much simpler than previous iterations.

It doesn’t break any new moulds for design but it manages to look a shade more upmarket than previous yamaha sound bars with its gloss black accents and centrally mounted display. Sure, you get 2 optical inputs, 1 single pair of anlog inputs. Since all the connectors are on the subwoofer, this might limit the placement options in your room depending on the length of your coaxial or optical cable. Placing the soundbar just below our projector screen and the YAS -1 delivered in spades with a full bodied sound that crisp for dialogues, wide enough for an authentic-sounding front spread and the bass was nothing short of astonishing. The only area that,  found the system lacking even with its much hyped Air Surround Xtreme technology was the surround fill. The yamaha system has been always been room- dependent and so it requires reflective walls on the either side of the room to bounce off the sound and simulate the surround channels. What it does do, it does really well. This product just proves that soundbars, as a category is only poised to grow further.