Yamaha YHT-34 Home Theater in a Box
September 2001
by Markkus Rovito
The Total Package
Home theaters, once a privilege of the snooty upper crust only, now come in hatchback-friendly boxes. Sure, expensive high-end systems are still superior, but with boxed packages such as the Yamaha YHT-34, Joe Commoner of modest income can grab a boxed TV dinner out of the icebox and sit down to a DVD movie in full 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS sound for under $1,000. These home theater-in-a-box systems are so rampant now that they even get their own acronym. We'll call them HTBs from here on.
HTBs usually come in two types: a collection of separate components packaged together, or an integrated system designed from the ground up as a package, in which the DVD player and receiver are often fused into one component. The YHT-34 is of the former configuration. With a full-size receiver and DVD changer in traditional black, it is not the hippest or most streamlined HTB, but its price/performance ratio is more than enough to merit serious consideration from the budget-minded film and music connoisseur.
The 5.1 surround sound speaker system consists of four identical, wall-mountable L/R speakers and one tabletop center channel speaker, each with 3.5-inch woofers and 0.5-inch dome tweeters. Together they have 120 watts of total power. The speakers are magnetically shielded, so you can place them next to a TV without causing picture degradation. A Yamaha YST-SW45 70-watt subwoofer completes the system. It has a Volume knob and a High Cut knob, which should be turned to at least 120 Hz, because that is the center channel speaker's minimum producible frequency. The other four speakers begin producing frequencies at 150 Hz.
The subwoofer plugs into the back of the receiver, a Yamaha HTR-5450. Loaded with connections on the back panel for CD players, a VCR, cable or satellite box, cassette recorder and more, the receiver also has a front auxiliary input section intended for video cameras or game consoles that includes composite A/V, S-Video or digital optical inputs. Plenty of speaker wire and an RCA cable for the subwoofer come with the system, as well as a video and optical digital audio cable for the DVD player.
Yamaha's five-disc DV-C6280 DVD/CD/VCD player completes the package. The PlayXchange function makes it possible to change four discs while one is playing. A healthy array of search and playback options include five forward or reverse search speeds, as well as slow motion and frame-by-frame in forward or reverse. It will also send signals to its digital and analog outputs simultaneously so that you can feed two receivers or amps at a time. An on-screen menu appears as a thin strip atthe top of the screen and displays information such as the track number, time remaining or disc time remaining of a CD, chapter number of a DVD and other items. You can also perform shortcuts such as entering in a specific time for a DVD to begin playback. A setup menu allows parents to block playback of DVDs of a certain rating without a password. Of course, the DVD title may or may not support this, and crafty kids who read the manual will discover how to erase the password.
One disadvantage of an HTB made up of separate components—at least in this case—is the presence of two remote controls. While the remote included with the receiver is a universal remote, it does not include all the function buttons of the DVD remote, namely the Audio button (for switching between available audio tracks), the Angle button (for switching to alternate camera angles) and a few others. Admittedly, the universal remote is sufficient in most cases, but an integrated universal remote built expressly for this HTB would be nice.
Though the DVD player includes component video outputs, we ran S-Video connections into a Philips widescreen HDTV monitor so we could use the receiver for video switching. The receiver doesn't do component video switching, but that would be unheard of at this system's price. Without progressive scan output or 3:2 pulldown to adjust film-based material for television frame rates, the DV-C6280 did show some artifacts during explosions and other busy action scenes in movies such as Rush Hour and Gladiator. And there were some stair-stepping effects around images as well. If your TV happens to be a newer, high-end model that incorporates 3:2 pulldown, it could ostensibly correct most of these problems. However, the player easily performed up to the standards we've come to expect from interlaced DVD players, and given its limitations, there were no complaints regarding its picture quality.
Whereas DVD players are becoming more and more commonplace, 5.1 surround sound hasn't yet become a fixture in the average home, so many HTBs will be introducing it to people for the first time. Allow me to say that the YHT-34 makes a damn fine introduction.
After pumping several hours of loud white noise through the speakers to break them in, we began to test the system's mettle. During the opening beach battle scene of Saving Private Ryan, one of the movies that most demands surround sound, the Yamaha system was very impressive. It created a very wide sound field, and the many bullet trajectories and impacts sounded crisp and clear in the rear channel speakers. Likewise with other surround-intensive movies, such as Fight Club. In the final scene, in which a skyline's worth of high-rises implode, the low dirge rumbles from the subwoofer menacingly and the reverberations naturally float back to the rear channels.
The HTR-5450 employs 26 digital signal processing (DSP) modes intended for the enhancement of audio from various sources. Some of these modes are intended for stereo-encoded music and videos, while the remainder exist for either DTS-or Dolby Digital-encoded sources. These settings are modeled after the acoustics of actual concert halls, music clubs and movie theaters and seem to use EQ, some reverb, delay and whatever other complex algorithms needed to create the effects. The differences between the movie effects are subtle, whereas the music settings are more differentiated. It's a matter of taste deciding what settings to use, but Concert Hall can't be beat for putting an amusing echo on usually dry NPR hosts.
While I don't recommend using the audio DSP settings on movies, the movie DSP settings are very satisfying for enhancing stereo-encoded music. The British techno band Orbital produces beautifully mixed music with equally dominating elements in the low and high ends of the frequency spectrum. When playing the group's music back in stereo, the YHT-34 did not disappoint. The right and left channels separated the mid and high frequencies with clarity, and the bass really tested the subwoofer. At 70 watts, the sub will not bounce anyone out of their chairs. But cranked to full volume, it did vibrate most the the first floor of my house while the tone stayed warm and did not distort. However, I quickly wanted to try Orbital in a simulated surround sound DSP mode and decided 70 mm Sci-Fi sounded appropriate. The effect was rather amazing. The music was made rounder and more spacious, without upsetting the tonal relationships of the original mix, as some simulated surround effects are known to do. Echoing synthesizer trills were sent to the the rear channels with a knack that seemed preordained, rather than estimated by a machine. It was a whole new way to enjoy favorite old music.
As good as this sounded, however, music encoded for 5.1 was even better. The Beastie Boys Video Anthology DVD contains 5.1 versions of its songs. First I played the stereo version of "Sabotage" (best music video ever, by the way) with a surround effect from the receiver. Nice. But then I switched to the 5.1 mix. Boom. It almost did bounce me out of my chair with the six speakers streaming sound at once.
The Yamaha YHT-34 is not the sleekest HTB around; with two big components it's even sort of clunky compared to others. In exchange for its size, however, you get a comprehensive receiver meant to be the Mission Control for your entire home entertainment system. Audio reproduction is commendable, and the various DSP acoustic environments are a nice plus.
Click here to compare!
The Total Package
Home theaters, once a privilege of the snooty upper crust only, now come in hatchback-friendly boxes. Sure, expensive high-end systems are still superior, but with boxed packages such as the Yamaha YHT-34, Joe Commoner of modest income can grab a boxed TV dinner out of the icebox and sit down to a DVD movie in full 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS sound for under $1,000. These home theater-in-a-box systems are so rampant now that they even get their own acronym. We'll call them HTBs from here on.
HTBs usually come in two types: a collection of separate components packaged together, or an integrated system designed from the ground up as a package, in which the DVD player and receiver are often fused into one component. The YHT-34 is of the former configuration. With a full-size receiver and DVD changer in traditional black, it is not the hippest or most streamlined HTB, but its price/performance ratio is more than enough to merit serious consideration from the budget-minded film and music connoisseur.
The 5.1 surround sound speaker system consists of four identical, wall-mountable L/R speakers and one tabletop center channel speaker, each with 3.5-inch woofers and 0.5-inch dome tweeters. Together they have 120 watts of total power. The speakers are magnetically shielded, so you can place them next to a TV without causing picture degradation. A Yamaha YST-SW45 70-watt subwoofer completes the system. It has a Volume knob and a High Cut knob, which should be turned to at least 120 Hz, because that is the center channel speaker's minimum producible frequency. The other four speakers begin producing frequencies at 150 Hz.
The subwoofer plugs into the back of the receiver, a Yamaha HTR-5450. Loaded with connections on the back panel for CD players, a VCR, cable or satellite box, cassette recorder and more, the receiver also has a front auxiliary input section intended for video cameras or game consoles that includes composite A/V, S-Video or digital optical inputs. Plenty of speaker wire and an RCA cable for the subwoofer come with the system, as well as a video and optical digital audio cable for the DVD player.
Yamaha's five-disc DV-C6280 DVD/CD/VCD player completes the package. The PlayXchange function makes it possible to change four discs while one is playing. A healthy array of search and playback options include five forward or reverse search speeds, as well as slow motion and frame-by-frame in forward or reverse. It will also send signals to its digital and analog outputs simultaneously so that you can feed two receivers or amps at a time. An on-screen menu appears as a thin strip atthe top of the screen and displays information such as the track number, time remaining or disc time remaining of a CD, chapter number of a DVD and other items. You can also perform shortcuts such as entering in a specific time for a DVD to begin playback. A setup menu allows parents to block playback of DVDs of a certain rating without a password. Of course, the DVD title may or may not support this, and crafty kids who read the manual will discover how to erase the password.
One disadvantage of an HTB made up of separate components—at least in this case—is the presence of two remote controls. While the remote included with the receiver is a universal remote, it does not include all the function buttons of the DVD remote, namely the Audio button (for switching between available audio tracks), the Angle button (for switching to alternate camera angles) and a few others. Admittedly, the universal remote is sufficient in most cases, but an integrated universal remote built expressly for this HTB would be nice.
Though the DVD player includes component video outputs, we ran S-Video connections into a Philips widescreen HDTV monitor so we could use the receiver for video switching. The receiver doesn't do component video switching, but that would be unheard of at this system's price. Without progressive scan output or 3:2 pulldown to adjust film-based material for television frame rates, the DV-C6280 did show some artifacts during explosions and other busy action scenes in movies such as Rush Hour and Gladiator. And there were some stair-stepping effects around images as well. If your TV happens to be a newer, high-end model that incorporates 3:2 pulldown, it could ostensibly correct most of these problems. However, the player easily performed up to the standards we've come to expect from interlaced DVD players, and given its limitations, there were no complaints regarding its picture quality.
Whereas DVD players are becoming more and more commonplace, 5.1 surround sound hasn't yet become a fixture in the average home, so many HTBs will be introducing it to people for the first time. Allow me to say that the YHT-34 makes a damn fine introduction.
After pumping several hours of loud white noise through the speakers to break them in, we began to test the system's mettle. During the opening beach battle scene of Saving Private Ryan, one of the movies that most demands surround sound, the Yamaha system was very impressive. It created a very wide sound field, and the many bullet trajectories and impacts sounded crisp and clear in the rear channel speakers. Likewise with other surround-intensive movies, such as Fight Club. In the final scene, in which a skyline's worth of high-rises implode, the low dirge rumbles from the subwoofer menacingly and the reverberations naturally float back to the rear channels.
The HTR-5450 employs 26 digital signal processing (DSP) modes intended for the enhancement of audio from various sources. Some of these modes are intended for stereo-encoded music and videos, while the remainder exist for either DTS-or Dolby Digital-encoded sources. These settings are modeled after the acoustics of actual concert halls, music clubs and movie theaters and seem to use EQ, some reverb, delay and whatever other complex algorithms needed to create the effects. The differences between the movie effects are subtle, whereas the music settings are more differentiated. It's a matter of taste deciding what settings to use, but Concert Hall can't be beat for putting an amusing echo on usually dry NPR hosts.
While I don't recommend using the audio DSP settings on movies, the movie DSP settings are very satisfying for enhancing stereo-encoded music. The British techno band Orbital produces beautifully mixed music with equally dominating elements in the low and high ends of the frequency spectrum. When playing the group's music back in stereo, the YHT-34 did not disappoint. The right and left channels separated the mid and high frequencies with clarity, and the bass really tested the subwoofer. At 70 watts, the sub will not bounce anyone out of their chairs. But cranked to full volume, it did vibrate most the the first floor of my house while the tone stayed warm and did not distort. However, I quickly wanted to try Orbital in a simulated surround sound DSP mode and decided 70 mm Sci-Fi sounded appropriate. The effect was rather amazing. The music was made rounder and more spacious, without upsetting the tonal relationships of the original mix, as some simulated surround effects are known to do. Echoing synthesizer trills were sent to the the rear channels with a knack that seemed preordained, rather than estimated by a machine. It was a whole new way to enjoy favorite old music.
As good as this sounded, however, music encoded for 5.1 was even better. The Beastie Boys Video Anthology DVD contains 5.1 versions of its songs. First I played the stereo version of "Sabotage" (best music video ever, by the way) with a surround effect from the receiver. Nice. But then I switched to the 5.1 mix. Boom. It almost did bounce me out of my chair with the six speakers streaming sound at once.
The Yamaha YHT-34 is not the sleekest HTB around; with two big components it's even sort of clunky compared to others. In exchange for its size, however, you get a comprehensive receiver meant to be the Mission Control for your entire home entertainment system. Audio reproduction is commendable, and the various DSP acoustic environments are a nice plus.
Click here to compare!
