![]() We had the unit benched in front of the TV, where its 56mm height kept it well below the screen of the TV, and we wondered how the upfiring drivers might affect the clarity of performance. (Image credit: Yamaha Music Australia) Sound Finally there are two 25mm (specification) tweeters on the front edge (benched) or firing down (wall-mounted) no amount of torchlight could reveal their location through the grille fabric! The quoted power ratings also suggest (and Yamaha confirms) that the woofers are running in a dual-mono configuration rather than stereo. Four of these fire upwards if the unit is benched (forward if on the wall) – according to the specs these are 55mm mid-rangers near each end and 75cm bass drivers halfway from each end to the centre, porting through side-firing ports in the curves of the bar, although using a pencil torch to shine through the grille, both sets seem rather smaller than specified when measured across their roll surround. Driversīluetooth will send only stereo signals, of course, but then the B20A is a stereo soundbar, with six drivers in all. For wall-mounting, of course, Bluetooth also has the benefit of removing all wires except the mains cable. While the sound was slightly softer than via optical and slightly more delayed, it was still an enjoyable, clear and impressively-sized sound, and the delay fell within even our particular hyper-sensitivity to lip-sync delay. We soon plugged in the supplied optical cable, which worked immediately into either socket, and we ran with that for the length of the review, except that first we tried pairing the bar by Bluetooth to the Samsung TV. This was not entirely a surprise we find ARC to be less than reliable. We initially cabled the Yamaha bar to the ARC-equipped input of a 2020-model Samsung TV, but despite an assault on the many relevant menus of the TV, no sound ever emerged via ARC. Yet as we’ll hear, the B20A does a remarkable job without additional support. Given that adding a separate subwoofer of quality will more than double the price and then some, you’d do better to buy one in a package if you’re after that bottom octave of movie-style bass: Yamaha has a number of such combos. There are a couple of other connections, besides the mains cable – a second optical input for any suitable device, and a coaxial digital output which you could run to a subwoofer, should you wish to add one. Inputs: 1 x HDMI ARC, 2 x optical digital, Bluetooth (SBC, AAC), USB-A (update only)ĭrivers: 2 x 25mm tweeter, 2 x 55m midrange, 2 x 75mm woofer (see text notes on sizes) Best soundbars in Australia for 2021: the best TV speakers you can buy.Or you can bench it in front of your TV, in which case the controls and lights are less usefully hidden. You can, as noted, hang it on the wall, in which case the controls, the indicator lights and most of the drivers usefully face the listener. The “quick start” guide is rather more practical, detailing the positioning and connection choices. ![]() ![]() There’s also the compulsory ‘safety guide’ leaflet to warn against stupidities such as standing on the bar, placing “burning items” nearby, unplugging it with wet hands, or “being near it during a disaster, such as an earthquake” (for which the excellent advice is to “quickly move away from the unit and go to a safe place”). ![]() Literature in the box includes a mounting template which shows that the bar can be stuck flat to the wall with the supplied foam spacers and a couple of sturdily fixed screws. It stretches a fair 91cm wide, a good match for 55-inch TVs, but with nothing to stop its use with TVs smaller or larger. Despite the entry-level price here, the soundbar feels solidly built, and looks stylish too, with black fabric wrap and curving ends – by no means a budget-looking bar.
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