I am very happy with this purchase. My space is limited so I didn’t want a big huge bar. The compact size is perfect. The quality of sound is impressive. It has a built in subwoofer so there’s no need trying to make space for another awkward box.I grew up on tube amps and vinyl and of course this doesn’t really compare. They are completely different beasts, but to be perfectly honest, when I crank it up listening to jazz, classical, hip hop, r & b, old soul, blues, Sinatra, loud rock n roll, whatever, it fills the room and sounds great. It doesn’t sound like compressed mush like some smart speakers, especially of a budget variety. One can hear the individual instruments as well as the studio atmosphere.It’s not super customizable. You can turn up the bass or volume, no real treble control, but it doesn’t bother me and I’m fairly picky about sound. Movies sound great. No need for subtitles with this thing. Also I haven’t experienced the commonly ridiculous audio disparity. I hate turning up the volume to hear dialogue and then there’s a deafening sound effect or orchestral swell. This thing is pretty even while still packing a punch.Big bang for the buck. If you’re looking for an inexpensive sound bar with kick and quality, this is it.

This soundbar was recommended by “The Wirecutter” (which does exhaustive product testing) as their best “budget pick” soundbar.I’ll be honest; $199 did not seem like a “budget pick” price (not for my wallet, at least), but once I researched more and found that the really highly recommended soundbars often go for $400 or more, I figured I’d give this Yamaha a try.I’m glad I did. Volume-wise, this is enough to FILL our combined living room / dining room / kitchen space with blockbuster-movie-worthy sound (w/ the volume set to about 50%). At that level, you’re getting clear dialogue, but are still getting a noticeable helping of rumble from explosions, soundtracks, etc.Also worth noting is that this soundbar has a remarkably balanced sound profile; the highs, lows, and mids do NOT overpower one another. That’s good, because there’s not much adjustability… except for the separate control for subwoofer volume, which a couple members of the household do adjust, depending on the experience they’re looking for (casual background viewing, or “let’s all watch this new movie” viewing).Three other small features of note… 1) This soundbar’s volume – if connected via HDMI-ARC – CAN BE controlled by the TV remote (in our case, Hisense), and 2) This soundbar also turns on automatically when the TV is turned on, and 3) Unlike another soundbar I’ve had in the past, this soundbar does NOT turn off until the TV is turned off, even if left idle, with no sound for a while (e.g. when a movie is paused, or while a streaming service menu w/ no volume is displayed on the screen).I am 100% satisfied with my purchase, given the $199 price. If you can get this for that price or cheaper, AND you are not an audiophile, AND your room is not the size of a small gymnasium… I absolutely recommend this.

This review is for SR-C30A. Since I installed it, it’s the only sound system I use to listen to music. Great quality. I found Clear Voice to be very useful. It significantly improved the clarity of the dialog in the movies.My TV is on the wall. I first mounted the soundbar 2.5in below the TV, but then, after reading some recommendations for mounting up-firing speakers, decided to try to move it a foot below the TV and a little bit forward, so there’s nothing between the soundbar and the ceiling. This could be just my perception, but it feels like it made the sound quality slightly better. But the improvement wasn’t sufficient to justify drilling two extra holes in the wall. All in all, I love it.

I bought a Bose Solo 5 and next to this one, this item had better sound. I could hear all the sound effects and the dialogue was excellent. I bought it ‘Acceptable’ and other than it being repackaged everything looked brand new and everything was in the box. Recommend!

I needed a soundbar for my new home office, as my monitor does not have built in speakers. Standard speakers would not work for my situation, as desk space is already limited and I opted for a pretty large 32″ monitor, hence my exhaustive search for a suitable soundbar to fit in the space underneath the monitor.After much online research, reading reviews, visiting the local big box stores for in-store listening etc, I pulled the trigger on this soundbar/ subwoofer combo. I could not be happier that I did. Now, Yamaha does not need this review or my support- they are doing just fine without me. But I am so impressed by the sound at this price-point that I felt compelled to leave a few words. I am 100% happy I purchased this. I had listened to the similar, smaller SR-C20A (in a store) and was somewhat underwhelmed despite all the positive online reviews. However, I realized that many of the other YouTube and online reviews are comparing that soundbar against others which are similarly priced (and so they probably sound even worse). Therefore, I guessed that getting a similar speaker to the SR C-20A by the same manufacturer, but with a SUBWOOFER would make a huge difference, and I was right. The sound of the SR-C30A is full, balanced, and does not perceptively distort at louder levels (and the system does get loud). Music is detailed and rich with good depth, and the sub provides as much bass as you could need, and realistically ask from this type of system. The soundbar with the sub disconnected sounds thin and uninspired, but with the sub connected is amazing (and I only have it turned up to a very low level to add a bit of depth).The biggest downside is that (at least at the time of my purchase) there was quite a leap up in price from the SR-C20a to the SR-C30a with the subwoofer. However, I feel that having a good sub is essential for any quality music or movie listening, and I could not be happier that I shelled out the extra cash for the SR-C30A. The only other faults I can find are that the “remote control experience” feels very basic, and that there is no adjustable equalizer (both of which I expected and neither of which I can complain about for a system of this price). I would easily buy this soundbar system again if I needed to, and recommend it to others who are in the need for one. I am completely satisfied with my purchase.