Yamaha SR-B20A User Reviews and Ratings

easy to connect and souds great - very pleased esp for the price.

Yes, and it's legit! Don't have space for or ability to power a subwoofer? This is an excellent alternative. This bar gets LOUD, too! Great for movies, sports, and tunes!

Great sound bar. Sounds great and has some impressive bass. Sounds good for my wall mounted tv, with an open floor plan, and high ceilings

GREAT SOUND. MAKES TV EXPERIENCE EXCELLENT. ALSO LOVE THE BLUE TOOTH FOR LISTENING TO MUSIC

Switched to Yamaha from Viszio, the sound is awesome. And I also like the external sub plug in. I can put any size powered subwoofer I want. Checked out other brands like Samsung, and Sony all had built in subwoofers, very small ones. This is the way to go.

Love it. Low cost great sound easy installation. Would be nice to have a digital representation of volume level either on the bar or on screen but not a big deal...if too loud decrease volume if not loud enough increase volume.

Love the surround control, voice control is the nest as I?m a bit hard of hearing voices on the TV

doesnt come with much info on how to use. have to go online to find out

This soundbar is great! It has a really full sound, not only compared to the tinny sound of the TV speaker it's replacing, but compared to my more complete sound system elsewhere in the house. It's perfect for television and movies, and could easily be combined with a subwoofer for people who want to listen to music from their TV. I highly recommend using HDMI ARC to hook it up, as the CEC control is so flawless I haven't touched the soundbar controller since I bought it aside from lightly adjusting the bass. It's really a fantastic soundbar.

Nice for the price

Sound quality is nice! Can?t beat price!

This sounder has great surround sound & base

All I can say is wow. This sound bar is just such a tremendous value. I currently own a much older Yamaha sound bar. Its probably 12 years old or so. It is still amazing. However, my wife and I are redoing our family room and getting rid of the cabinet it sits on so I need something that mounts on the wall. While my old bar still sounds amazing, it is huge. So, we needed a new one.I think we spent about $1,200 on our old one so I was assuming that was where we were going with this. However, for less than $200, Yamaha has managed to put together a really great bar. You get all the features my old bar had and more. Dolby Digital Surround, Bluetooth, HDMI Arc (one output allows you to control the bar audio with your TV remote), and an app as well. Plus, it sounds great. Maybe not as good as my old one, but it is surprisingly close for a speaker that is about 40% of the size. The built in subwoofer sounds good but I plugged in my old one and it works great. The set up is really fast. My phone paired immediately and it connected to my TV easily.All and all, this is just a great buy. If you don't own any Yamaha stuff, you are in for a treat. If you have the budget, this sound bar is sort of in the middle of their line up. They do make the MusicCast Bar that comes in around $500. I am sure it is amazing. However, at less than $200 this SR-B20 bar is simply amazing and will enhance your television viewing experience in amazing ways. Well done to the Yamaha team here! Highly recommend!!

This sound bar is beyond what I expected. The sound quality is ridiculously crisp! It?s sleek looking as well. I like how it offers the option of mounting as well. It was easy to connect to- either through Bluetooth or through an HDMI cord. My only disappointment was- this was a Christmas gift.... and I received the package with it displayed as what it is. I didn?t see that when I bought it, or else I would have gift wrapped it because the person it was going to be gifted to got it before me. Plus- it was just left on the porch for the whole world to see. Not great. Overall though- the sound bar is worth it. Sound quality is superb. Minus the packaging- I have no complaints!

Recently bought an new TV for the main room and retired the (absolutely superb and last of the breed) Panasonic plasma to the exercise room/office. My way better half is not an equipment geek. I have a perfectly fine 2 channel system back there, but she wants ONE button to turn it on, and ONE button to change the sound level. Period. Whenever she wants to watch or listen on the main system, I get to fire it up. You know the drill - turn this on, THEN push this button, THEN change remotes and push THIS botton, THEN genuflect and pray to the electron gods, etc.SO, I did my usual 20 hours of review and data reading. Did NOT wanna spend a bundle; you can get stupid with sound bars very quickly. This bar caught my eye, brand new, hardly any reviews. For this price, I figured what the heck. She complaines about the TV speakers but she's not a sound geek like I am.SO, let me be clear. This is not a comparison of TV speakers to a bar nor is it a comparison of an old bar to a new bar. I've never owned a bar. Up to now I've considered them sacriledge. The speakers alone on the main system retail for about $7k. The digital and vinyl music and TV sound up front are pretty decent with 280w pushing it. This is a comparison between a pretty decent 5.1 system and an inexpensive soundbar.Wow. How on earth anybody can do that sound quality for under $200 is amazing. NO, it doesn't blow the windows out. NO, it doesn't equal a $10k sound system. BUT the voice production is, as advertised, wonderfully clear. As long as you sit in front of it, the dynamic range of music from a youtube music vid or a hidef music documentary are really just fine in this 12'x14' room. There's no separate sub, of course. While this tiny little thing does a truly superb job of providing bass sense with the bass booster thingie on, it OF COURSE won't pound your floors. There's a sub connector if you want to add one. All that said, I'm just ecstatic. I'm sure there are other great bars out there, but this one up against the sound quality of my main system does just fine.I'm sorry there are people not happy with this on the few ratings it's gotten so far. I'm awed. (Disclosure, I AM biased toward Yamaha stuff. That amp is an ancient RX-V3800.)

This Yamaha sound bar produces great audio at a reasonable price. It has greatly improved the audio output from my TV. I like that I am able to cast from my mobile devices to the sound bar using Bluetooth. Included in the kit is the sound bar, power cord, optical audio cord, remote, and a quick start guide. To access the full manual, you need to go to the Yamaha website. This sound bar is fairly compact and lightweight, measuring about 36? wide and weighing a little over 7 pounds.Installation was very straight forward and uncomplicated. The sound bar connects to the TV with either the included audio optical cord, or with your own HDMI ARC (eARC) cord. The HDMI ARC connection is preferred, but both will achieve great results. Installation consists of connecting the HDMI ARC or optical connection to the sound bar and to the TV, then plugging in the bar?s power cord. I have a newer smart TV, so my TV recognized the sound bar as soon as both were powered on, and audio switched over to the sound bar automatically. There is no wall mount included for the bar, but mounting to the wall is as simple as installing wall anchors using the included mounting template and hanging the bar from their screws. There are spacers included to isolate the bar from the wall.The sound bar is controlled from either the remote or the app. The app only connects to the sound bar through Bluetooth, which means that you need to be in range of the sound bar for the app to work. Since both control the same sound bar functions, I do not see the need to use the app. The sound bar can be powered on/off and the volume changed by using the TV?s remote if the sound bar is connected through the HDMI ARC cord.There are indicator lights on the sound bar that illuminate when certain actions are performed, or to indicate certain statuses. The indicator lights are easy to see and can be dimmed if desired. There are buttons on top of the bar that control power, volume, and the input source.I am really impressed with the audio output. There is clarity to a wide range of tones and the audio remains clear at high volume settings. The 3D surround sound technology is effective and creates an immersive sound experience. The two built-in subwoofers really bring out the bass. If you want additional bass, there is a subwoofer input that a separate amplified subwoofer can be connected to.There are several programmed audio modes available, such as movie mode or game mode, which can beselected to adjust the output to optimize the audio. The bass can also be adjusted separately with the remote. There is a Clear Voice setting which is intended to improve the clarity of voices in the audio output. This is helpful if there is a broadcast with a lot of background music or sound effects that tend to drown out the dialogue. This setting did improve the clarity of voices.

This review is for the YAMAHA SR-B20A Sound Bar. Excellent sound from this sound bar, which is about 12? wider at 35?, and 2? deeper at 5? than it?s smaller compact SR-C20A sibling. Like the SR-20A, the mids and highs are clear and crisp, but the bass is much more robust in this SR-B20A model. The entire range sounds great from the low volumes through the high volume levels, where the bass is definitely noticeable and stands out. It isn?t a knock-down-the-walls bass at the high volumes like you would hear with a full-sized sub-woofer, but the great thing about this particular sound bar is that there is a bass extension jack where you can plug in a separate sub-woofer if you really want a hard-thumping bass. But frankly for most at-home music listening and movies, this soundbar kicks out plenty of bass.I really like the sound tunnels that are on each end of the sound bar, which directs sound out to the sides and off the walls to give a very realistic 3-D surround sound effect without having to set up separate speakers.It has several audio input options including hdmi/optical with ARC support, and bluetooth. Unlike the compact SR20-A model, this one does NOT have a 3.5 analog input jack. Instead it has an external bass extension jack, which I think is the best choice between those two options for a full-sized sound bar.There are preset audio configs for stereo/music, standard, movie, and game modes. Bluetooth music play is effortless and does sound great. The optical TV sound input also works really well, and makes a very noticeable difference to any TV that may not have that great a sound by itself. It definitely makes the sound feel more multi-dimensional and ?real?, like you are there when watching a movie or concert on the TV, especially with the DTS Virtual:X technology. I did discover that I like the sound of playing music better when I use the ?Movie? setting as opposed to the ?Stereo? setting, so try the different options out to discover which you prefer.It?s an excellent quality soundbar, extensible to an external sub-woofer, and one that I recommend for both playing music and TV sound.

For the price it sounds absolutely fantastic. Much better then the bose soundbar that sells for a similar price.

Upgraded my workstation at the office. Been using existing speakers for 15 years so I figure that I would treat myself and upgrade my sounds. Very nice sounding and easy to setup. I'm jamming now.

I got this for my teen adult for Christmas. He was so excited that he told all his friends. What's great about this is:Pros=Includes remote or control via the phone app=Bluetooth lets him connect this to both his laptop and his phone remotely=My son can mount this up on his wall. His friend just got one and he helped mount it so he was excited to get one also.=Virtual 3D Sound=Good collection of inputs : Sub Out/Optical=4K HDMI Pass-through=Dual built-in subCons=Pretty expensive for speakers but if you buy speakers separately it will add up to much more.=These things are longer than expected.=Might need your own HDMI cable=Bass of course never lives up to expectations. I need a $200 Sub for that.Exciting addition to my kid's room

This soundbar sounds FANTASTIC. Yamaha has another winner on their hands. I love the fact that I can add my own subwoofer (I have so many to choose from, my best one is a Martin Logan). So many soundbars come with sub-par subwoofers (pun intended). But you may not even need one with this. The bass without a sub is fantastic. It struggles a little if you turn on bass-boost, but it doesn't need that activated. Overall, I love it. Easily 5 stars. Great sound. Great price/value.

Yamaha really does a fantastic job with their mid-priced speakers, and even in a crowded market this is an excellent choice for many uses. The sound bar is easy to set up and connect to a TV, even for a non-tech-savvy user, and it provides a really impressive level of sound considering the size and price. This will make a cheap TV into a "home theater" that will satisfy many users all by itself, even without true surround or a big subwoofer; it's even good enough for very pleasant small-room music listening comparable to many stereos on everything except bass. Only a serious home-theater setup of much greater complexity and size will really outdo it. Highly recommended.

Technical jargon is confusing. As this is priced for an average household, and not commercial level speaker equipment, I wanted to provide a review from an average joe point of view.Set-up:Setting this up took less than 5 minutes and was completed in 4 steps. The set-up for this was as simple as plugging in an hdmi cord (not included), downloading the optional app, and turning the tv on. If you wanted to use this speaker via bluetooth, that is an option as well.Installation:I didn?t hang mine on the wall, instead I just positioned it on my tv stand.App:I definitely recommend downloading the app on your phone. It makes changing settings much simpler and convenient, and then I don?t have to use the included remote.Sound Quality:Sounds great to me! It is noticeably better than the speakers on my $300 tv. Also, changing the sound setting on the app is very easy. It?s just a matter of clicking on or off the ?3D surround sound? icon ?or the ?clear voice? icon. I love the clear voice setting. Sometimes the background noise is so loud, you have to turn up the volume just to hear the voices. This fixes that problem. You can also turn the subwoofer higher or lower with a sliding scale bar. I was able to notice a distinct difference in all of the different sound options available.Alexa:No problems using or activating Alexa. She was able to pick up my voice immediately from any part of my room. You can use Alexa to change inputs, lower/raise sounds, play your favorite music, listen to the news, get the weather, set timers, etc. You need to have an amazon account to use this feature, and it does require you to log-in which is a very simple process.Overall:I definitely recommend this sound bar. This is easy to set up and use for an average home user. I am confident that anyone that can work the basic features of a smartphone could set up this sound bar with no problems.

We recently received one of their smaller soundbars we use with the desktop computer and have been very impressed with it, so we were excited to try this larger one with our TV. We were not disappointed!Sound quality is excellent and it was easy to set up. Easy to mount underneath the TV as well.We usually are a samsung family with electronics, but I'd be excited to see what new stuff yamaha comes out with.

It is absolutely everything that you want it to be and more. Perfect sound quality. I trust the brand more than the product and Yamaha hasn?t failed to deliver this time as well. I use it to connect my laptop or phone and listen to music. Super easy pairing, have to do it only once and then it?ll connect to your decides faster than you?d think. Good buy!

Sound bars have come a long way in the past several years. About 5 years ago, I paid $300 for a sound bar that isn't even as good as the built in speakers on my current LG OLED TV. But this Yamaha SR-B20A sound bar is amazing. The sound quality is like night and day compared to my TV's speakers. It sounds better than some stand-alone stereo systems I have owned in the past that cost over $1,000. The voices from the TV shows and movies I watch are very clear, and although it does not come with a subwoofer, it does a good job of producing a decent amount of bass.You can connect it to your devices using the optical output, HDMI ARC, or Bluetooth. I connected my iPhone with Bluetooth and played some songs to give the audio quality a better test, and I was very pleased. This is definitely one of the best values you will find in a sound bar.

I'm not an audiophile but do want my tv and computer audio to sound good. I had some fantastic tower speakers and amp hooked up to provide sound for my tv, but ran into issues with my new television. Newer tech and newer encoding was confusing the heck out of my elder receiver and I was getting clipping in the sound since the older equipment didn't know what to do with it. I also wanted a more minimal look for my viewing and gaming area so those huge tower speakers had to go. The SR-B20A Sound Bar from Yamaha is the perfect solution.I was very skeptical that any soundbar was going to provide the kind of sound I was used to, and frankly, it doesn't. BUT, it is perfect for the room I'm set up in and it sounds wonderful. It definitely needs a subwoofer hooked up as the bass, while pretty good from the soundbar, is not quite there. The soundbar does provide a hookup for one. It's also got ARC which if you have a newer TV equipped with ARC makes syncing the two effortless. Just plug your ARC compatible HDMI cable (most newer ones are all compatible) in to the labeled plugs on the soundbar and on the TV and you're pretty much good to go. It makes it so that you can use your TV remote to control the volume on the soundbar. You also get a remote with the soundbar. With it you can control the volume (of course) but also the volume of any attached subwoofer. It also gives a few different sound settings you can change for movies, gaming, standard, and stereo. Also buttons to turn on 3D surround and Clear Voice which makes the audio for the dialog more noticeable in those shows and movies with so much going on plus music that you find yourself unable to hear what the actors are saying. That setting does work pretty well too.For just under 200 bucks, I don't think you can go wrong with this sound bar. Trusted Yamaha name, really nice sound, easy setup, and it recognizes the new sound encoding my ancient but excellent receiver couldn't. Super happy with the SR-B20A.

Very simple set up with separately purchased HDMI.. sound was a huge difference! After a plug and play I was off to the races. Synced with my TV/remote automatically

I like it , sounds good, it is much better than my samsung sound bar same size, in my other room.

I wanted to get a soundbar for my room since the tv I have in there has terrible speakers. I didn?t need anything fancy, just something that sounded good for watching movies or whatever that was actually clear. I?m not a huge sound geek, though I do have a nice surround sound system in my living room that was over a grand which I love. So when I came across this Yamaha sound bar with built in subwoofers and Bluetooth I figured what the heck.Let me just say I am really surprised at how clear and good this sounds! As I had mentioned, I have a pretty expensive surround sound in my living room by an extremely well known brand and the sound quality is honestly almost right up there with it! Of course it doesn?t have the surround sound effect nearly down as well, or all the bells and whistles as it, but in terms of clarity and sound quality it really is quite comparable. I have had no issues with connection or trouble with it at all. It was easily recognized by Bluetooth and everything was simple to set up. I?m honestly really impressed by this, especially at this price point! Definitely recommend this!