Top quality / price – The Yamaha YAS-109 soundbar at € 199.00

Once known and recognized as a master of high-end soundbars, Yamaha has refocused in recent years on aggressively priced compact models. The YAS-109 is his latest creation in style: a small bar without a box, but with Alexa.

The Yamaha YAS-109 certainly does not keep all its promises when it comes to the quality of its bass and its surround virtual. But we can’t really hold it against it, since it nevertheless offers more than adequate performance for its price range, satisfactory both for listening to music and watching movies – on the only condition of remaining wise on the sound volume.

Strong points

• Exemplary neutrality of the frequency response.
• Natural and dynamic sound.
• Excellent stereophony.
• Manufacturing quality.
• Successful Alexa integration.

Weak points

• Shallow bass.
• Very audible distortion in the low mids at high volume.
• Unconvincing virtual surround.
• No screen, only status lights that are not always very readable.
• Few compatible streaming services (Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Music).

Alternatively

With more precise highs, and more generally better distortion management, the SR-C20A could have outclassed its direct competitors. It is nonetheless a very compact soundbar that will bring a net gain in sound quality to the vast majority of televisions and monitors.