Digital Trends

Yamaha YSP-4000 Digital Sound Projector

January 28th, 2008 | by Brandon King

The Room 

For testing purposes, we mounted the YSP-4000 in a 15’x20’ room with only a partial back wall, opening into a kitchen. Each side of the back wall has approximately 3-4 ‘of surface before opening into the next room. The left wall is standard drywall, the wall holding the sound projector is cement (fireplace), and the right wall is mostly glass. Audition distance from the speaker was approximately 15’.

The YSP-4000 was part of a permanent setup focused on aesthetics, and was mounted at a less-than-optimal 7.5’ from the floor, above a plasma, which was mounted above a fireplace. Bear in mind that the on-screen setup allows for mounting within 45 degrees of listeners’ heads, which was not the final setup. For review purposes, we rather rested the sound projector on the fireplace mantle, within the recommended listening angle. It should be noted that mounting the sound projector outside the recommended range results in losing the ability to automatically calibrate the system (more on this later). Also worth keeping in mind: The floor of the room we tested in was hardwood on concrete, with a few pieces of furniture and a floor rug to absorb sound within it. 

We mention the room in detail simply because the system relies on sound reflection, which is different for different materials, such as glass and drywall.

Physical Setup and Connections 

The original setup that was to include the YSP-4000 called for an HDMI switching, upconverting receiver to handle all inputs (Yamaha RX-V2600/2700) and output a single HDMI cable to the sound projector, and have from the sound projector another HDMI cable passing video to the screen. The promise of the one cable to-rule-them-all existence was within our grasp. Sadly, and of important note, this setup is not feasible. Even though the sound projector does feature HDMI “passthrough,” that passthrough is a feature of the internal HDMI switch, and placing two HDMI switching setups in a row causes havoc with many devices. Were tried the all-HDMI setup initially, and found that neither our Comcast HD DVR or Denon upconverting DVD player were recognized. 

So, for purposes of this review, we set the sound projector up as it was intended to be used – as a combined speaker and receiver. Our sources were plugged into the two HDMI ports, and the HDMI out port sent the video signal to the TV.

As far as other available connections, the YSP-4000 does a good job for its size, though features nowhere near the number of options that a more tricked-out receiver can handle. On the input side, connections include 2 HDMI, 2 component, 3 composite video, 2 composite audio, 2 optical audio, 2 digital coaxial audio, an XM radio port, iPod Dock, IR extender, RS-232C and a built-in FM radio. On the output side, there is 1 HDMI, 1 component, 1 composite video and subwoofer, along with Yamaha’s System Control port. That should be enough for your typical setup of cable box/STB, DVD player and a couple video game consoles, but anything more adventurous will require a video switch box or receiver. Remember that you won’t be powering the sound projector from the receiver, so high receiver wattage will be a wasted feature.

Yamaha has a newly-added note to the product page, explain that the YSP-4000 can be paired with the YDS-10 iPod dock, but there are limitations when using the latest generation of iPods (Classic, nano, and Touch). The dock offered previous iPod models the ability to navigate the menu system, whereas newer models can only have playback controlled.

The Equipment 

We tested the YSP-4000 with an HD DVR using Comcast HD service and a Denon DVD-1730 DVD player. We did not have an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player on hand, but the HD cable service should be enough to determine any issues that might arise with video quality. For a display, we had a 58” 1080p-capable Panasonic TH-PZ750U plasma TV (review to follow shortly) on-hand. We did not have a subwoofer picked out yet to compliment the system, which Yamaha recommends for optimal sound, so we expected audio output to be lacking on the low end. We’d recommend factoring another $500 for a decent subwoofer on top of the sound projector’s $1499 USD MSRP for the optimal-sounding system.

System Setup and Calibration 

The initial setup process was very straightforward. The YSP-4000 comes with a calibration microphone that plugs into the front of the unit and extends to the listening location. The on-screen display is easy to navigate, and the auto-calibration routine is one minute of sci-fi sounding weirdness that sweeps around the room. This was our first taste of the directional abilities of the system, and a giddy grin filled our faces. We knew we were in for a treat as the calibration sounds swept around the room in a dizzying display of audio acrobatics. A whispered “cool” was muttered by everyone in the room. 

Setup after that point was more obfuscated. The basic options are easily accessible, allowing the focus of the sound to be adjusted in all three dimensions (near/far, left/right, up/down) along with beam strength and focal distance. However, we highly recommend taking the time to tweak the system after auto setup. The auto setup does about 90% of the work for you, but the remaining 10% is a matter of personal preference and sweet spot adjustment. If, after setup, the sound seems flat, make sure it is in “5 beam” mode. Several options for adjusting the environment are available on the remote for quickly changing the directional characteristics, but over the course of our week-long review, the different settings didn’t offer much beyond the standard setup, and we found ourselves wondering whether they were actually useful. For stereo sources, the sound can be dispersed around the room via several options.