Yamaha YAS 109 Soundbar Review

I love music! Music does make your work going a bit easier and faster, if you know what I mean, unless you are cutting material of different lengths, in which case you will end up with plenty of off cuts.. DAMHIK 😂

But it is true.. Music can improve work performances in my experience.. For example, yesterday listening to Bach in 4 hours I got done 4 complete cabinet’s doors. Today with AC DC in 4 hours I did 6 complete cabinet’s doors. That’s an increase of 50% 😎

Gigi has already 3 sets of stereo speakers and a 350 watts Subwoofer, and that’s great for when driving or having a party, but not for everyday listening. I do often listen to classic music and not at a loud volume and in different location as well.

The problem:

1. I wanted a decent sound system that could be used either for movie or mp3
2. I wanted the option of Bluetooth (no cables)
3. I wanted the option of using it in different locations (inside or outside)
4.  It had to sound good with a small footprint

The Solution: A Soundbar!

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier in the build, and why also I haven’t seen them in use even on new RV, but it really does tick all the boxes. It is small and yet does sound good, it has Bluetooth connectivity so to allow remote and friends music, it can be mounted on  the wall or just letting sit on a table and it does come with HDMI for movie..

My son in law, has a small Bose Soundlink Mini II that I been always impressed by, every time I listen to it, but beside the Bose name High price tag, it had some limitations when playing bass sounds. The next logical option was the Bose Solo 5 (since 2020 has been renamed Bose TV Speaker) but in all honesty it didn’t sound much different at all from the smaller Mini II, and that does confirm how good the Mini II really is, considering it is half the size and half the price of the Solo 5. I did like the small footprint of the Solo 5 Bose TV Speaker but I just wanted something that did sound a bit better for that kind of money.

Enter the Yamaha YAS 109. Actually before I forget, the good guys do still sell the YAS 108B for 228 dollars (no longer for sale). That’s nearly half the price of the virtually IDENTICAL YAS 109 that I just bought. Don’t ask..

Here Yamaha does explain where the differences are:

I could get rude here, but let’s pretend that an analog input jack is not a network jack and that Bluetooth 4.2 is better than 5.0. I let you be the judge, if the list of changes and “improvements” does add up to $200..

Back to the review.

The main difference between the Bose Solo 5 and the YAS 109 is the built in sub woofer, and a fraction better sound quality. You also don’t need to buy a special mount for the Yamaha if you want to mount the bar on a wall. All you need is two screws. A good point about the Bose is that it run on 20-21 Volts DC (or around that) and that does make it easy to operate with a 24 Volts battery system if you don’t want or don’t have 240 Volts available. The Yamaha did opt for an internal transformer and therefore without breaking the warranty and an internal modification, will only run on 240 Volts.

The sound quality of the 109 is pretty good even at high volume, but the 3D sound is not as clear as it could and it does tend to distort at max volume. The output of the built in subwoofer is comparable to a small external subwoofer, so don’t expect miracles. It is still better than no subwoofer at all, but if good quality bass is what you are after, this is not the best option. It is however the best option if space is at premium and you are on a budget!

Here the YAS 109 is mounted on the wall under the TV, but I have already tested the unit in the dining area and outside in the BBQ area. I can honestly say that soundbars are a good solution to RV limited space sound systems!