Yamaha YHT-34 Home Theater in a Box
September 2001One 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.
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