BIG sound in a small package!
Written: Feb 13 '03 (Updated Apr 20 '05)
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Pros: Small size and big sound!LOW LOW price!Everything is included.
Cons: Low efficiency ACOUSTIC SUSPENSION design and accuracy is a bit off.
The Bottom Line: Highly recommended for tight budgets and listening rooms!
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| sam-pro's Full Review: Yamaha NS-P220 Speaker System |
The Yamaha NS-P220 six piece HT system consists of two very small FRONT speakers and identical CENTER and SURROUND units with the CENTER facing you horizontally instead of vertically [like the others].The five transducers are complimented with a fifty watt powered sub-woofer that is very compact and easily hideable wherever you so desire!Yamaha also supplies speaker wire and mounting brackets for this exciting ENTRY LEVEL system.You may want to upgrade to more serious audiophile wire as the supplied 20 GA. can be bettered by OFC wire commonly available.
First of all, I wish to praise Yamaha for supplying all the necessary goods! Buying mini-speaker brackets can almost equal the cost of such an economical system as the Yamaha NS-P220 and the company has spared you the expense and aggravation! BRAVO YAMAHA!! We purchased our particular system with the standard two tone black finish from YOUR ELECTRONIC WAREHOUSE in Chicago, Illinois over the net and everything went smoothly with no hitches or surprises other than the system arriving four days later via UPS! Our price was $130 with free shipping! I am most impressed with this INTERNET store.
Setting up the NS-P220 system was relatively easy.The supplied wire and brackets were used for our listening tests.Yamaha gives you two adjustable brackets and we determined that these would be best suited for the REARS in our small COMPUTER ROOM.The stationery brackets were used for the FRONT and CENTER speakers and we were able to convincingly hide the speakers on the outside of the room's white colored curtains with blue trim.Of course you can reverse this situation if you so desire but I really must give Yamaha high marks for not only supplying the brackets but also for supplying the two adjustable ones to boot!
The compact sub-woofer has both HIGH LEVEL [from your amp's speaker terminals] and LOW LEVEL [your amp's PRE-OUT or SUB OUT RCA jacks] inputs.Our particular unit was the USA model that is already set for 110-120 v useage.If you purchase a GENERAL model then you will have to set the voltage via a selector on the sub.The AUTO-ON feature has three settings including "out" and we decided to try the regular setting which is most sensitive to an incoming signal.This feature allows the sub to "turn off" when no signal is applied to it.Under no circumstances was this ever annoying.Even while watching videos with quiet scenes, the sub stayed powered up which quite frankly took me by surprise after experiencing a similar Sony unit click "in" and "out" under the same circumstances.Some people claim that they have had this annoyance occur with the NS-P220 sub but I just cannot get it to that point without shutting off power to the amplifier.I set the OUTPUT LEVEL control to the 12 o'clock position.
For our auditioning, we used a Parasound CA-250 amp capable of well over fifty watts p/ch. in the STEREO mode with a Dynaco QD1 SERIES II L HOME THEATER adapter.This gave my stereo Parasound amp a true 5.1 configuration!...NOW FOR THE ACTUAL LISTENING TESTS!
The Yamaha NS-P220 proved to be an easy system to listen to for extended periods although the sound was somewhat reserved and constricted in the upper mids and highs.It was somewhat low in efficiency but this was expected as the efficiency rating is 86db at 1 watt 1 meter anyway.Nonetheless, any respectable HT receiver should be able to drive the system comfortably.The sound character was surprisingly good if not on a par with the best on all types of music with even better performance with MOVIE SOUND! Admittedly the Sony SAVE systems are better but then again they start at more than double the price of the Yamaha!
The most pleasant surprise of all was the sound quality of the subwoofer.The modest fifty watt rating did not seem to hold back its powerful response at all and one could easily hold on to it and simply upgrade to PSB ALPHA B's, INTROS or MINI's for FRONT or SURROUND speakers in the future without having to apologize for deep bass performance!
Overall the Yamaha NS-P220 HT 6-piece system is a wonderful surprise at its modest price and would be perfect in a small room such as a bedroom or dormitory type.It would make a great gift for a college student! The sub itself would be worth more than the asking price!
God bless you all and I do welcome your comments!...PETER
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 130
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Epinions.com ID:
sam-pro
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Peter J Sammon II
Location: The Bloomfield Burying Ground, USA
Reviews written: 218
Trusted by: 122 members
About Me:
Every once in awhile something great arrives at relatively low cost to you...Priceless!
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