DVD: The Incredibles (corner placement)
I queued up Chapter 23 "100 Mile Dash" to see how well the corner configuration would work with the surround-heavy material in this section of the movie. Right off the bat my observations through the manual setup process were also discerned by the listening tests. The surround left channel was almost impeccable. Sounds coming from the rear were not nearly as impressive though the overall envelopment was excellent. As Dash runs across the water and enters the cavern the ambience correctly changes and you could almost "feel" it in the room (this happened again a short while later when Violet produces a bubble which saves them from the gunfire. In the ensuing family battle against the spinning ships, envelopment was almost total, with only a slight lack of presence on the right side due to my lack of a full side wall and corner placement. Keep in mind that in this first pass the system was operating in Stereo + 3Beam mode (the only option for surround sound with corner placement).

Overall the effect is a bit uncanny. Switching between stereo and Stereo + 3Beam really allows you to hear what the YSP-1100 is doing. It's a feeling of surround envelopment without point sources. Whereas dipole speakers attempt to diffuse surround fields, the Digital Sound Projector completely achieves this goal.

DVD: The Incredibles (parallel placement)
During the "100 Mile Dash" chapter the surrounds were engaged in overdrive. Environments were summersive and Dash frequently showed up in the surround tracks as did the flying vehicles. In the ending battle scene against the giant robot there was a lot of "off-screen" action which was well represented directionally by the YSP-1100. This scene in general is excellent testing material for surround effects and making sure you are correctly configured for 5.1. I would have to say that parallel placement won this round as well- the room simply did much better and having the option of 5Beam mode and Stereo + 3Beam was a plus. The difference in having the 5Beam mode was amazing. The front left and right channels were separated in a much wider soundstage- so much so that the system was able to position these channels at the extreme edges of my Stewart projector screen- that's about four feet outside of and the same amount higher than the edges of the YSP-1100. What's possibly more impressive was that the perception was that the sound was coming from behind the Yamaha, which was positioned in a temporary spot 1.5 feet in front of the screen.

DVD: Hero (corner placement)
On this DVD I wanted something a bit more epic that could allow me to hear more of a feature film mix of production audio and sound design. There are also some excellent scenes where surround sound is fantastically demonstrated. Chapter 7 "Advance Ten Paces" has a well-known scene where Jet Li's character takes out an entire room of bamboo in the blink of an eye. The YSP-1100 recreated this in an almost eerie manner. With no direct radiating speakers the effect was of being in the room itself. Instead of surround sound it was more of a "real" sound that literally came from all directions. The right side was still a bit weak due to my room, but I looked forward to re-evaluating the setup in the next room with a parallel installation and four solid walls to utilize the 5Beam system.

The following chapter "Flying Snow" was even more impressive, with falling wooden arrows that literally came down from everywhere. I found that if I leaned forward or back the imaging would change, but that is where configuring the system properly comes into play. Most of the sound was locate in front of the seating position slightly, but the effect was still immersive.

DVD: Hero (parallel placement)
This was a night and day difference. With the system set up in parallel mode in my first reference system (with all acoustical panels removed) the effects of the YSP-1100 were nothing short of breathtaking. To get this type of surround sound presence from a single box is absolutely astonishing. In Chapter 7, Jet Li floats around the room and the sound of the bamboo breaking is unmistakably real . In addition, the height adjustments made by the Auto Setup rendered the final sequence where he catches the cup on his sword perfect- the cup sounded as if it landed directly on the sword- in the middle of my 100-inch screen. Keep in mind that the Yamaha Digital Sound Projector is situated about 1.5 feet below the bottom of the projector screen.

During "Flying Snow" it sounded again as if the wooden arrows fell all around the room- however this time the soundstage was immense. In addition the sound extended to beyond the seated position, unlike in the other reference room with a corner install. Viewing this allowed me to realize that the system could be optimized in a myriad of rooms, however the more rectangular you can get it, the better your overall results will be (this corresponds to suggestions made within the user manual as well).

Making recommendations to a company like Yamaha is tough- they almost seem clairvoyant in their ability to provide new products with advanced features and bug-free performance. The Auto Setup is acceptable on this system, but users may have trouble with corner placement. It would be cool to have a "lock-down" mode whereby the type of setup (corner or parallel) is selected as part of the setup process. Then the system can calibrate from that fixed position and information.

Lastly, we'd like to see a flagship model with component video upconversion and an on-screen display that doesn't limit itself to the composite video outputs only. HDMI would be nice as well, but I don't see it as a necessity with this style of product- at least not right now. A backlit remote rounds out my suggestions and completes this short "shopping list" of suggestions.

If you're planning on using this in your room for home theater or more than just occasional casual listening, we recommend a subwoofer. The included TruBass feature is nice and it does add some lower frequency perception, but you can't beat a real subwoofer (or two). Adding a sub really completes this system and brings it to the next level- so make sure you add that to your list.

The Yamaha YSP-1100 is NOT a typical pseudo-surround system. This is a sophisticated device that literally does what it says. Taking just one physical box you are able to convincingly recreate a 5-speaker surround environment 舑 but that's not exactly true. While 5 speakers can give you surround sound, and inexpensive system is often localizable and highly directional. The Yamaha YSP-1100 almost envelopes you in a sound "bubble" and is an altogether different experience. If you think you've heard these "one speaker does all" systems before, take another look- the YSP-1100 is NOT like anything else I have ever encountered in the industry. This is breaking new ground and I like where it' s going. Perfect for consumers who are looking for lower profile system, the YSP-1100 replaces an AV receiver as well as a surround sound speaker system. Taking into account that there are a host of manufacturers who charge more for a simply combined flat panel LCR speaker, the YSP-1100 is a veritable steal and has earned its 5-star value rating.