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If you’ve got a DVD player and want your films to sound like they do in the cinema, a 5.1 surround-sound speaker system is essential. The 5.1 bit refers to five speakers and one subwoofer, each of which needs to be connected to a digital decoder with speaker cable. If you’ve got a large room, this can get messy, and the last thing you want is to be tripping over wires, or ripping up your carpet to lay cables under the floor.
However, a solution can be found in the shape of the Yamaha YSP-1, which claims to be capable of delivering 5.1 sound through just one unit. There are other poducts that profess surround-sound capabilities using just one, two or three speakers, but these often sound flat and produce something that is far from the encircling audio effect promised. But it seems Yamaha has broken new ground with the YSP-1. It looks – and is built – like nothing we’ve seen before, and is even called something different, describing itself as a sound ‘projector’ rather than just a plain old speaker system. But how does it actually work? Behind the grille of the metre-wide YSP-1 is a combination of 42 independently powered speakers.
A digital sound processing circuit inside the machine controls when each speaker emits sound and in which direction. Sound is not only projected directly at the listener but is also bounced off the walls, which allows sound to be heard from the front, sides and back. So, a plane flying overhead will sound like its coming from behind, and a voice calling from afar will sound like it’s coming from the other side of the room.
The YSP-1 has also been designed to work in a variety of sound modes depending on room layout and what you’re listening to. The 5-Beam Mode bounces sound around three walls of a room (left, right and rear) to give the impression of five audio channels (frontleft, front-right, centre, surround left and surround right). Stereo Mode will project two channels of sound directly at the listener (like a normal stereo), and 3-Beam Mode uses the left and right walls to produce three channels of sound (left, right and centre).The final Stereo + 3-Beam Mode is used when the YSP-1 is positioned in a corner of a room and, like 5-Beam Mode, projects five channels of sound.
In each mode tested, we experienced excellent sound reproduction and, when in 3 and 5-Beam Modes, a great surround sound effect. While it’s not ‘true’ 5.1 surround sound, it’s still light years ahead of its competitors, and is vastly better than many pseudo-surround sound devices we’ve seen. It can’t deliver thunderous bass as there’s no dedicated subwoofer, but the 120-Watt audio is extremely clear, especially in the centre channel, which is mostly used for dialogue. There’s a socket on the back of the YSP-1 for attaching a separate subwoofer, but this will add an extra couple of hundred quid onto the asking price. The only hitch is that the room you use must be relatively free of clutter, so the sound can be projected off walls without anything getting in the way.
Setting up the speaker is very easy. Its shape has been designed to fit under 42in plasma televisions, and it can also be wall-mounted using an optional hanging bracket (£45). Nevertheless, it also has its own integrated stand, so will sit quite happily in front of any television. It has a digital 5.1 decoder built in, so all you have to do is connect it to your DVD player or Sky box using a digital connection and the YSP-1 will automatically detect what audio format the film uses. The most common formats are Dobly Digital and DTS and surround sound, although it will also support, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6.
See also:
A home entertainment centre that uses flat-panel speaker technology to create surround sound 25 May 2005
A better soundcard will give you higher quality audio, and good speakers will enhance your listening pleasure. Here's how to make sure your system produces great sound 01 Dec 2004All Speakers
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