Yamaha YSP-3050 Soundbar: Same as the YSP-3000 Plus HDMI Upscaling

The YSP line is my favorite soundbar because of the sonar-inspired tech it borrows from cold war subs. The YSP-3050 is a new 23-driver model, second best compared to the 42 driver YSP-4000. The upgrade from the 3000 now has a front mounted minijack in, and HDMI upscaling. Like the higher end models, these will provide glorious surround, but unless you wall mount, the speaker blocks a few inches of your TV. [Yamaha] More »

Yamaha YSP-500 the Littlest Sound Beam Surround System

I love the YSP series soundbars from Yamaha, but two points: their prices, and fact that you can't table mount em without blocking the bottom part of a flat panel. The Japan-only YSP-500 has only 18 individual sound beam drivers as opposed to 42 in the YSP-4000. It's also only 24-inches long, will fit easily under a TV and costs only $647. It support "Dolby digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6" and as Paul Strauss notes, you need a sub to really get the most out of this soundbar. Unfortunately, there's no mention of HDMI inputs. If YSP wants to go mainstream, Yamaha should bring this setup here. [Technabob]