The Yamaha YAS-209 is an entry-level soundbar with a 2.1 setup. Overall, it's a decent soundbar with a well-balanced sound profile. The subwoofer helps create good bass, so the soundbar's good for many different uses. The soundbar has two channels, left and right, so without any dedicated satellites speakers, it can't properly project surround sound. However, there's a virtual surround sound setting, which may help it with this problem. It has a built-in Alexa feature and the controls are fairly easy to use. It's a slight improvement over the Yamaha YAS-207, with a sleeker design.
Our Verdict
The Yamaha YAS-209 is a decent soundbar with a well-balanced sound profile. It has a great frequency response, and the subwoofer helps produce good bass. The soundbar won't offer an immersive listening experience because of its lack of surround sound and height channels. Alexa users will be happy with a built-in Alexa feature. In addition, the soundbar has a simple, sleek design that won't stand out with most TV setups.
- Well-balanced sound profile.
- Decent build quality.
- Very good stereo performance.
- Poor surround performance.
The Yamaha YAS-209 is good for dialogue. As a 2.1 system, the soundbar is able to reproduce voices and dialogue well, and has a dialogue enhancement feature to enhance clarity. Unfortunately the soundbar doesn't get very loud, but most TV shows won't need max volume.
Decent for music. The Yamaha YAS-209 has a well-balanced sound profile, and the dedicated subwoofer produces a good low-frequency extension, which is good for bass-heavy music. The stereo soundstage is alright, but on the upside, there isn't much compression at the max volume, so the quality doesn't decrease the louder it gets.
Okay for movies. The Yamaha YAS-209 doesn't have dedicated satellite speakers, and there's no Atmos support, so this might not please most movie fans. The soundbar mixes surround sound content to the left and right channels, so it gives out a more stereo feel. However, there's a virtual surround setting to try to help with this problem, but we didn't measure this setting.
Changelog
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Updated Oct 23, 2024:
The Bass Extension and Dynamic Range Compression (DRC) features have been mentioned in the Stereo Frequency Response With Preliminary Calibration and Sound Enhancements sections, and an outdated note was deleted from Stereo Dynamics. We've also removed out-of-date notes related to bugs in our testing process.
- Updated Mar 21, 2024: We've added a comparison between this soundbar and the Hisense HS2100 in Sound Enhancement Features.
- Updated Mar 27, 2023: Added cable lengths to In The Box.
- Updated Mar 22, 2023: Converted to Test Bench 1.1. With this update, we've added a Mounting test and added information aboutSubwoofer Output, Spotify Connect, and Microphone Mute.
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Popular Soundbar Comparisons
The Yamaha YAS-209 is a decent overall soundbar with good performance for a 2.1 setup. It has one of the better-performing stereo frequency responses that we've tested so far. This soundbar doesn't support Atmos content, so it's not as great of an option for movies compared to some of the higher-end models, but the wireless subwoofer is a good addition to an entry-level soundbar. It doesn't get loud like some other soundbars, but there isn't much compression at max volume. See our recommendations for the best soundbars, the best soundbars with subwoofers, and the best budget soundbars.
The Sonos Beam (Gen 2) is better than the Yamaha YAS-209. The Sonos is a better-built 5.0 setup that supports Dolby Atmos content. It also has better soundstage, center, and surround performances. Its compact design may be more suitable for some users. However, the 2.1 Yamaha has a dedicated sub that can reproduce a more extended low-bass. Unlike the Sonos, it also has a Full HDMI In port for high-quality passthrough.
The Yamaha YAS-209 has a better performance than the Yamaha YAS-109. The YAS-209 comes with a dedicated subwoofer that helps reproduce a more extended low-bass. It's also better-built, and it has a better soundstage.
The Yamaha YAS-209 is a slight improvement over the Yamaha YAS-207. It performs a bit better at max volume but doesn't seem to get as loud as the previous model. However, it should still get loud enough for most people. The YAS-209 has a slightly better sub as well, which produces deeper bass. It also now supports Wi-Fi wireless playback, which the YAS-207 lacks.
The Sonos Beam is a better soundbar than the Yamaha YAS-209. The Sonos is a 3.0 setup with a dedicated center speaker and can get very loud. It's also more compact, and you can easily upgrade the setup with sub and rear speakers. However, the YAS-209 has a dedicated wireless subwoofer that helps to produce more bass than the Sonos. It also has a lot more connection inputs, and you can connect to it via Bluetooth.
Test Results
