Yamaha SRT-1000 TV Speaker Base Preview

Yamaha just released a new product in the high performance aesthetic speaker category: the Yamaha SRT-1000 TV Speaker Base. This is a TV speaker base that is designed to sit underneath your flat panel TV and support its weight while delivering high-fidelity stereo audio for your living room. What makes the Yamaha SRT-1000 stand out is that it makes use of Yamaha’s advanced DSP to simulate surround sound and produce environmental effects that reproduce the ambience and action in feature films. The SRT-1000 uses 10 speakers to work its magic, including eight 1-1/8″ beam drivers, a pair of 4″ x 1-1/2″ mid-bass woofers, and two 3-1/2″ “subwoofers” for the low bass. The entire system is housed within a single MDF wood cabinet, but the output recreates a full 5.1-channel surround sound field with all of the dynamic range and clarity you’d expect. Most importantly, the Yamaha SRT-1000 sets up with just a single optical cable from your television. For listening to music, the TV speaker base uses Bluetooth with Apt-X so you can stream near-lossless music wirelessly from any iOS or Android smart phone or tablet.

The Yamaha SRT-1000 works as a TV stand for just about any flat panel TV ranging in size from 32″ to 55″. Like Yamaha’s Digital Sound Projectors, the SRT-1000 uses DSP “steering” to create sound beams that reflect off the walls of your room. The Yamaha SRT-1000 accepts Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround formats, so you get true multichannel movie sound, not a simulated effect built from the left and right channels. The result delivers a realistic 5.1-channel surround sound experience that far exceeds anything you’ll experience with simple phase-based DSP.

Buy the Yamaha SRT-1000 TV Speaker

Control on the Yamaha SRT-100 can be done via the included remote, or by using the free iOS/Android Home Theater Controller app. The SRT-1000 can also “learn” select functions from your TV remote control and can turn the SRT-1000 on and off, adjust the volume and even control the Mute function. Yamaha even lets you use the Home Theater Controller App (or the remote) to adjust the beams and configure the system for optimal playback in your room.

The Yamaha SRT-1000 cabinet is made from MDF and features a classic hairline finish on the top surface. The front panel and sides are polished in a gloss-black finish with nice rounded edges. Provided your TV is black, this speaker should go well with any set and in any room. The enclosure houses the central 8-speaker array in the center as well as the two oval woofers positioned to each side of the TV speaker base. The dual woofers (we dare not call them subwoofers) include independent bass reflex ports that reduce resonance and allow the small speakers to achieve more output and a lower frequency response. If that’s not enough bass, the SRT-1000 speaker base gives you an RCA output jack for connecting to a powered subwoofer.

Yamaha SRT-1000 TV Speaker Base Design and Connectivity

The SRT-1000 is 30-3/4″ wide and 14-5/8″ deep—and strong enough to support TVs up to 55″ (we’re going to guess a weight limit of around 85-100 lbs). Since it provides more volume than a typical soundbar and is designed to go under your TV, you end up with a speaker that gives you a lot more undistorted sound without blocking the view of the TV screen. For connectivity, Yamaha positioned the connections diagonally on the top and back of the unit. That makes for super-easy, no-hassle access to your flat panel television. The SRT-1000 includes two optical TOSlink inputs and a single S/PDIF coaxial input in addition the RCA subwoofer out.