Yamaha YAS 203 Soundbar Speaker Review

Soundbars have been progressively improving in sound quality, features and design while decreasing in price. Today, all of the best soundbars offer a simple solution to great quality audio, without the hassle and wires.

The Yamaha YAS 203 is a pseudo surround sound system. It’s a 2.1 stereo, meaning it provides a stereo output with a subwoofer. It’s a great value and has tons of great features for the price.

Design

The YAS 203 is just about 35 inches across. It might look a bit small if you size it up against a 65″ or larger HDTV. But don’t let the size fool you, the YAS 203 produces big sound at a smaller size. It’s relatively square but has rounded edges. It’s made from black plastic, and is light for easy wall-mounting and installation. If you’re looking to place it in front of your TV set, it sits about 3 1/8 inches high so make sure your stand is taller than that to prevent blocking the screen. On the center of the soundbar, you’ll find a number of indication LEDs and control buttons for easy access. Some competitors use different colors for the LED indicators but the YAS 203 uses a single color that prevents confusion. Inside the bar, the 203 features two 2 1/8 inch drivers. It has a wireless 6 1/2 inch subwoofer that’s powered by a 200 watt amplifier. On the back of the sound bar, a recessed section houses all of the input and output connections too, giving you a seamless and hidden wiring configuration.

Features

The Yamaha YAS-203 is packed with a number of great features. It supports both Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, which makes it great for movie playback. It supports aptX for quality wireless connections from your mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones too. For inputs, it features a coaxial digital and optical input, as well as an auxiliary input via RCA jacks. However, it does not feature an HDMI input. The YAS 203 also has sound-processing features like Air Surround Xtreme pseudo surround processing and Clear Voice. These enhanced processing systems help to improve clarity and fullness of your sound. And a night mode called UniVolume helps to limit the frequencies that are known to be loud and wake others. With respect to the remote and IR, the 203 has an IR repeater that will send your remote’s signal to the TV, allowing you to use one control.

Overall, the YAS 203 is a tremendous value. It has a ton of great features and sound enhancements and produces outstanding audio. It’s a great choice for a sound bar if you’re looking for a simple system with a wireless sub.