Yamaha YSP-5600 - Still worth buying in 2021?

SteveNesta

Novice Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2021
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Points
52
Age
53
Location
Essex, UK
Hi all. New to this forum.

I have the YSP 40D (and the Yamaha sub), since 2009 and love the sound. Looking to upgrade it however. Looks like the YSP 5600 is the top of the range, and the modern (2016) equivalent.

Bearing in mind it's a 2016 product, does it still compare well to the latest soundbars from other manufacturers? Should I just get a different brand?

Currently looking to get the 5600 soundbar (and use my existing Yamaha sub) plus some of the Yamaha MusicCast speakers for other rooms. I like the option to connect them all together, plus I like the inputs available on the 5600.

Supposedly the Sonos ARC is the top performer with with hardly any inputs, it's putting me off. Currently have 2 x Sonos Ones, but they obviously won't connect and sync with the 40D, hence the desire to update everything to sync.

Thoughts?
 
The problem with the 5600 is the lack of HDR/DV passthrough on its HDMI ports. Passing just 4K doesn’t cut it. There’s no eARC support either. If you route video to your TV and audio to the 5600 then that will work, but it’s a faff. I do just that on my older YSP4100 bar. Difficult, because in all other respects it’s a decent lump.

If the price was right, then I’d still go for one, but at ~£1300, when I last checked, that’s just too steep for something with so many omissions. If it was priced at say £799 then it would be a different story.

The Canton 10 might be worth a look. You could use your existing sub., although there’s no system trigger connection to control sub. power. Not an issue if you have an auto-sensing sub. Other than that, choices are pretty limited if you want to recycle some of your existing hardware.
 
Hi and thanks for getting back to me. I Can buy the 5600 for £849.
I’ll have to go and research what “HDR/DV passthrough on its HDMI ports” means and whether it’s significant. Also the eARC thing.
 
I bought a 5600 and love it , it has replaced my home theatre floor standing system.
The Dolby atmos it unreal I love this unit.
I have it hooked up to a projector so all my inputs are done on the sound bar.
 
It's a pity that Yamaha has shown no signs of wanting to update this hardware to handle DV and HDR passthrough, and eARC would be nice too. The existing hardware must be a limitation, but I don't understand why the bar hasn't had a refresh. It really is a top class lump, let down by just a few missing features. That all said, I'd certainly consider it to replace my YSP4100 if the need arose. For me, it would be a simple drop-in, although the lack of those features would always be a bit of nag.
 
I have a YSP-40D as well, it's in a Yamaha stand made for the soundbar which is great but also unfortunate as I want to upgrade as well but need to keep the same look i.e. I need a cabinet that'd create a more integrated look with the soundbar.

There is/was a dedicated stand for the YSP-5600 (DWLC-GL1500B) but it never made it to Europe as far as I can tell, which is a shame as it'd be perfect and despite the issues with the 5600 I'd probably buy one.

The other one I was looking at is the Ambeo soundbar but that needs to sit in front of a TV with no obstructions to the sides so for that I'd need a stand with a floating shelf for the TV and no obstructions to the sides of the soundbar.

If anyoone knows of something that'd work for either I'd be interested.
 
There is/was a dedicated stand for the YSP-5600 (DWLC-GL1500B) but it never made it to Europe as far as I can tell, which is a shame as it'd be perfect and despite the issues with the 5600 I'd probably buy one.

I did not know they offered a stand like that for the bar. That was always a problem for me personally, where to put the thing which put me off mostly. To this day I still really want one as I've used Yamaha for years and their high end bars were brilliant.
Its a real shame they gave up that end of the market.
 
I made a small stand which raises my LG TV enough so that my YSP4100 bar doesn't obscure the TV. Seems to work a treat. Cost me about £20 all-in as I recall. Four legs, a bit of MDF/pine shelving and some paint.
 
The YSP series have good bounce in the right room but can’t compare to the recent Samsung 950A or 900A series.. the Arc is nice as is the Bose 700 or 900 but without an E Arc tv you won’t get the best sound…the Samsungs connect hdmi directly to the bar ,no optical cord needed… dialogue is crystal clear and very reliable..
 
Hi

The Samsung is nice but it suffers the same as all the others with regard to putting them in a stand on a shelf, you can't. The problem I have is a soundbar in front of the TV on top of a stand after you had the nicer bespoke arrangment just doesn't look nice (so I'm not allowed to do that).

I'm still hoping Yamaha suddenly come out with a new bar complete with a cabinet you can buy, but I'm resigned to having to probably move on to a different arrangement if the YSP-40D dies.

The Sony HT-A9 looks interesting but I'd want the Sub so it's also a little eye watering. But I wouldn't spend as much on a stand so it's an option. He says hoping his current bar doesn't die.

On the optical front .. bought a LG 65C1 .. set it up. Plugged in optical to soundbar. Set TV to optical and passthrough. It works fine for 5.1 and no sync issues or reliability issues so far. Plus the TV is lovely .. so far.
 
I can't see Yamaha releasing anything like the YSP5600 now. The market has moved on, I think. The Canton 10 is worth a look, now that it supposedly has eARC support. It's certainly on my radar.
 
I can't see Yamaha releasing anything like the YSP5600 now. The market has moved on, I think. The Canton 10 is worth a look, now that it supposedly has eARC support. It's certainly on my radar.
I have a hunch that Yamaha are going to exist the Soundbar market.🥺

Since the launch of the YSP-5600 they haven't created another Atmos or truly ground breaking soundbar. Competition has caught up, the market is saturated and Yamaha can't compete with buy a TV and get 50% soundbar offers.

It's disappointing because my YSP-2500 is one of the best products that I have ever owned. However, I got tired of waiting on Yamaha to release a Dolby Atmos successor. Last week I pulled the trigger on a Samsung Q950a and am over moon.

The rear speakers add immersion while Atmos compatibility has night and day improved sound quality for Disney+ and Netflix. I highly recommend it to any YSP owners who want superb dialogue clarity, surround sound and bass with big presence.
 
Yup, I agree. I’m reasonably sure that my next bar will be a Canton 10, or something like it. I need the HDMI ports and the option for a wired sub.

Only the generation 2 flavour of the Canton 10 is worth looking at, as it supports eARC. Thus far, I haven’t found it for sale in the UK, which could be bad news …
 
Last edited:

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom