Yamaha YHT-150 600-Watt 5.1-Channel Home Theater in a Box (Silver)
Nice system, but maybe not for a large living room.
We wanted an HTB (Home Theater in a Box) for less than $300 for our Master Bedroom, to go with the new small HDTV. We already had the other components (DVD, etc.), so we wanted an HTB without the DVD but with plenty of component connections for future expansion. After some shopping we purchased the Yamaha YHT-150.    However after purchasing this product, I struggled for 2 weeks to like it, but in the end I finally did. I debated about taking it back and I looked at several other systems during these 2 weeks, but really couldn't find anything better in this price range.    Both the receiver and the powered subwoofer are excellent, but my 2 week struggle was with the other 5 speakers (NS-AP-1500s).    After setting the system up, I tried the DVD movie \\"Twister\\" (always a good HTB test movie), but the sound was \\"flat\\", \\"hollow\\", somewhat \\"tinny\\" and low volume (IOW, had to turn the volume way up). The speaker sound reminded me of being at the drive-in theater (remember what those speakers sounded like). This is when I entered my 2 week struggle with the system.    To start sorting it out, I tested 2 of the speakers on another system, and quickly discovered that they are not very efficient (it takes power to get sound out of them), but I also discovered that the sound they produced was very clear and clean, unlike the YHT-150.    So back to the YHT-150, I realized that the speaker wire that came with the system was only 22 gauge wire (though it looks heavier) which I used to set it up. So I theorized that this wire was too small for the power required to drive these speakers, and that this might be responsible for the unwanted sound effects. So I bought $5 worth of cheap 16 gauge speaker wire at Home Depot for a test, and rewired the front 3 speakers. Then I turned on the local classical FM station, and WOW, what a world of difference the 16 gauge wire made! I could hear richness and detail in the piano solo, and even people quietly moving around in the background of the recording.    However at the new more powerful and cleaner sound levels, I could now hear that the speakers had no low-end bass (which is noted in the manual specs), but the subwoofer was not filling in the bass correctly to compensate for this. There would be a sound from the speakers (like a voice for example) that should have a bass component, but only a rumble from the subwoofer. This problem turned out to be the cheap subwoofer cable that came with the system.    So I ordered a 100ft roll of good quality 16 gauge speaker wire and a good quality subwoofer cable, both for $38 total (I caught both on sale), and both of these have transformed the system. The speakers now deliver good clean clear sound at significantly reduced volume settings. The required volume settings are still higher than I'd like due to the speaker inefficiency, but the receiver has more than enough power to drive them in a bedroom setting, so this is not an issue. The excellent subwoofer is now very clean and tight, and it accurately fills in the bass for sounds that have bass.    In the end, I've come to like this system, and it does a really good job for the reasons we bought it. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a large living room as I don't think it has the power to fill a large room, but it can fill a bedroom or a smaller living room just fine.    I have a couple of other issues with the sytem. First, the remote looks a little cheap, but it works fine. Second, the system was a little complicated to figure out and setup, and I think this system needs to be setup correctly for it to deliver its excellent sound potential.    All in all this is a nice system, and I recommend it.