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Yamaha combines receivers with subwoofers and soundbars for trio of HTIB offerings

by Tim Stevens posted Sep 18th 2009 at 7:26AM

Yamaha combines receivers with subwoofers and soundbars for trio of HTIB offerings
Receivers keep growing more channels, but few people have developed an affinity for running more speakers and their tethers 'round the living room. Yamaha's doing its part with a series of products that integrate things together -- soundbars, HTIBs, and the like. On the lower end are the YHT-S350 and YHT-S400, pictured after the break. Both offer a receiver with an integrated subwoofer, through which your various devices can be connected and the output end of their HDMI cables tickled with bass. The two differ only in how they get their highs out, with the S350 including a pair of squat stereo speakers and the S400 offering a three-channel "air surround xtreme" soundbar. On the higher end is the updated YSP-4100, above, a rather tall but only 9cm deep soundbar with the receiver integrated that can be mounted on the wall right beneath your giant HDTV and then paired with a selection of wireless transmitters for iPods and the like. It includes a whopping 40 4cm speakers arrayed within, with a further two 11cm woofers, delivering what Yamaha calls 2.5.1 channel sound -- though it looks as if it can power two additional speakers at the sides if you want something a little closer to 7.1. The YHT-S350 and -S400 are due to hit Japan in time for a Halloween marathon, while the YSP-4100 should release in time for the holiday specials on TV. No prices just yet.

[Via AV Watch]

Read - YHT-S350 and YHT-S400
Read - YSP-4100

Continue reading Yamaha combines receivers with subwoofers and soundbars for trio of HTIB offerings

Samsung AS730 HTIB review

by Steven Kim posted Apr 21st 2009 at 9:56AM Featured Story

Samsung AS730 HTIB
In a time when most people feel that the sound spilling out of the white earbuds that came bundled with their PMP is "really good," getting people to pry open their pocketbooks for sound quality is a tough battle. That doesn't mean it's not worthwhile -- ask anyone who has experienced a good HT demo and they'll tell you that audio is a significant part of the grin-inducing experience. Where price sensitivity intersects with a desire to experience surround sound, HTIB (home theater in a box) systems have found a nice market opportunity. For its part, Samsung's $500 AS730 HTIB promises a lot -- a compliment of five speakers plus a powered sub combined with a receiver that can accommodate your existing system and leave you with some room to grow with both inputs (three HDMI, two component video and an iPod dock) and outputs (an extra pair of speaker outputs for 7.1-channel rear-surrounds). Read on to find out how the Samsung AS730 managed the features/price balancing act.

Gallery: Hands-on with Samsung's AS730 HTIB

Continue reading Samsung AS730 HTIB review

Yamaha's four updated HTIB systems have you surrounded

by Steven Kim posted Mar 4th 2009 at 10:30AM

Yamaha YST-791 YST-591 HTIBs
As much as we itch to go fully custom in assembling speaker/receiver combos from disparate brands, there are reasons that HTIB systems are so popular, with value and ease of use coming in high on the list. The four updated HTIB systems from Yamaha certainly stack up pretty well: a couple of systems (YHT-791 and 591) with HD audio codec support are balanced out by a pair of 5.1 systems (YHT-491 and 391) that trim the price without leaving you totally out of the game. Holding pole position is the $850 YHT-791, packing 90-Watts to the seven discrete channels and 100-Watts in the 10-inch sub. Four HDMI inputs, HD audio codecs and even a iPod dock round things out and pretty much ensure you'll have the audio thing covered. If you need that DTS HD-MA and Dolby TrueHD support but not 7-channels' worth, save yourself $200 with the YHT-591 and up to 5-channels at 105-Watts each -- it'd be the direction we'd lean in. But don't take our word for it -- hit the link, check out all four systems yourself and let your own ears decide.

[Thanks, Brian!]

Sony's HT-IS100 HTIB features micro-drivers

by Nilay Patel posted Jun 5th 2008 at 5:18PM


Sony continues its series of home theater updates today with a new HTIB, the HST-S100. Like some previous Sony packages, the HST-S100 doesn't feature a central receiver, instead integrating the 450W amplifier, 3 HDMI ports and Sony Digital Media Port right into the back of the sub. Furthering the stealth factor, the five speakers themselves are no bigger than strawberries -- which has us wondering about mid-range performance, but we'll withhold judgement until we actually hear 'em. You get some other mid-high-end goodies for your $700 as well, like S-AIR wireless speaker capability, Bravia SYNC for Theater, which simplifies operation with select Sony gear, and auto speaker calibration. Should be out in July, we're told.

Onkyo intros the HT-SP908 and HT-SP904 do-it-all home theater systems

by Joshua Topolsky posted Oct 17th 2007 at 8:03AM


Have you ever been sitting at home at night, looking at your 19-inch CRT television and listening to your Victrola phonograph and thought, "Shazam! This setup stinks!"? Well, perhaps you're in dire need of an introduction to Onkyo's HT-SP908, a home theater in a box which does everything... and we mean everything. The progressive-scannin', multi-format-playin', 7.1 system offers 90-watts per channel, an iPod dock, XM and SIRIUS radio compatibility, 720p / 1080i / 1080p upscaling, 1080i and 1080p HDMI in / out, component in / out, optical and coaxial audio in / out, plus playback of DVD Video, Video CS, CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW, MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG 4-AAC, DivX, and JPEG formats. If that's not enough, it also makes lunch, breaks up with annoying girlfriends, and organizes your t-shirts by color. The HT-SP908 is available now for $1099, a slimmed-down, 5.1 version called the HT-SP904 is also currently on shelves for $899.

Read -- HT-SP908
Read -- HT-SP904

The ITC One, a high-end HTIB

by Steven Kim posted Aug 19th 2007 at 4:40PM

ITC One from SE2The ITC One from SE2 Labs is more of a "Frankenbox" than a typical "home theater in a box". This monster will literally crush most home theater in a box solutions, weighing in at 18 x 21 x 19-inches, more than 100 pounds. SE2 has taken the guts out of high end separate components, thrown out the redundant bits, consolidated the good parts into a single thermally designed chassis, and integrated it all with a single AMX control interface. When you get yours home, you've only got one set of connections and one remote to wrestle with. What do we mean by "high end"? We mean a Vidikron scaler, Bryston surround sound processing, ICEPower amplification, a choice of HD PVR solutions (currently DirecTV, Dish and Comcast), a XBox360+HD DVD, and other home theater automation parts as options. You'll know where your $20,000 went!




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