Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Yamaha YAS-203 review

In Yamaha's sprawling line of 15 sound bars, this one hits the sonic sweet spot

yamaha yas 203 review yas203 hero
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Yamaha YAS-203
MSRP $400.00
“Yamaha’s YAS-203 offers a brilliant balance of features, performance, and affordability, hitting a sweet spot in the lower tier of the sound bar genre.”
Pros
  • Excellent detail in subtler nuances and dialog
  • Clear and smooth treble
  • Powerful, balanced bass
  • Equally talented for music or movies
  • Solid feature set includes IR repeater
Cons
  • Brass/cymbals can break up in the treble
  • Would prefer second optical input to coaxial

Yamaha makes all sorts of sound bars that do fancy things, like shooting “beams” of sound at your walls for more convincing virtual surround sound. But perhaps the company’s greatest feat in the genre is creating a simple, powerful, and affordable bar that sounds pretty damned good. That’s exactly what Yamaha has done with the YAS-203, a $400 budget beater that should be on the shortlist for anyone looking to upgrade their TV sound at a bargain.

Recommended Videos

Hands on video

Out of the box

We won’t go so far as to say the YAS-203 is cute, but the way its glossy front panel yields to fabric speaker grilles is reminiscent of Wall-E – kind of like a smiling face.

The system’s cube-shaped wireless subwoofer is equally petite and charming, presenting a no-nonsense design with little affectation, save a silver Yamaha logo at the front. The system’s finish doesn’t scream luxury, but it doesn’t feel dirt-cheap, ether. Accessories in the package include an intuitive owner’s manual, a stubby remote with batteries, and an Optical digital cable.

Features and design

At just under 35-inches across, the 203 isn’t built to square up with the stature of today’s swelling TV screens. Placed in front of a 65-inch Samsung H7150, the sound bar looks downright skimpy. It doesn’t sound that way, though, and its lack of width did little to hamper stereo effects.

The bar is stocked with two 2 ⅛-inch drivers, paired with a 6 ½-inch driver in the sub, and backed by a claimed 200 watts of total system power. The only physical features breaking up the otherwise blacked-out box that serves as the foundation of the low end are a porthole on the right side of the cabinet, and a green LED around back.

The sound bar’s IR flasher ensures you’ll never have to worry about blocking your TV remote’s signal.

A small recess on the back of the sound bar hosts a digital Optical input, a digital Coaxial input, and an analog RCA input. As you’d expect, a fourth way to play is offered via wireless Bluetooth connection for your mobile device. And while we wouldn’t have minded an HDMI input (for better sound quality and ARC functionality), at this level, it’s not really necessary — especially since the 203 can be easily programmed to accept volume, mute, and power commands from your TV remote.

At 3 ⅛-inches high, the 203 will block the IR sensor for many TVs, but Yamaha has cleverly solved that conundrum with an IR repeater built into the back of the unit, which can be activated by holding down a corresponding key on the remote for 3 seconds. This inclusion gives the bar a real edge over most competitors at this price point.

The rest of the remote’s controls are self-explanatory, including volume, mute, and subwoofer control, source selection, and surround/stereo modes for playback. Also included are keys to activate familiar Yamaha DSP features like Audio Delay to remedy any digital delay issues, Uni Volume, which prevents wild swings in volume (aka dynamics – a good feature for quieting loud commercials, bad for movie excitement), Clear Voice to enhance dialog, and Bass Extension. We found a nice balance with Bass Extension off, and Clear Voice engaged. We kept Uni Volume off as well, and didn’t wind up needing the delay feature.

Yamaha-YAS203-soundbar-insitu1
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

While it’s not much, the sound bar’s digital display is fairly easy to follow once you get it down, offering an array of LEDs that indicate source, surround sound, and info like Dolby or DTS coding from your source device, both of which the unit can decode. The lights indicate other data as well, such as general volume and subwoofer level, and flash at the center to indicate whether DSP functions are engaged or disengaged.

Setup

For the best movie sound, we recommend connecting your Blu-ray or DVD player’s Optical or Coaxial input directly to the sound bar, as running it through your TV can often compromise sound quality. However, if you want to soup up the sound for everything you watch, you can simply connect everything to your TV, and run a single digital audio cable (probably optical) to your sound bar. In a perfect world, your disc player has a coaxial digital output and you can get the best of both worlds.

Audio performance

While the YAS-203 will certainly add a much-needed punch of potency to your TV audio thanks to its very capable subwoofer, the system really excels in its impressive approach to tactile sonic details. Offering a particularly brilliant upper register and midrange, the 203 presents a clean and precise touch to dialog and musical instrumentation, as well as complex sound effects like footfall on gravel and the sprinkle of broken glass.

The system’s light and silvery touch presents itself almost as the Yin to the Yang of one of our other favorite bars in this price range, the Pioneer SP-SB23W. While the Yamaha lacks the Pioneer’s creamy midrange, it has a sharper cut to the upper register that offers a tinge more precision, separating the two like fire and ice. Both bars are great performers, and deciding which is right for you will depend on personal preference.

That said, while we did wish for a bit more gumption in the mids, the 203 does a fine job handling heavy effects. The system presents gunshots and explosions with a thick burst up front and some welcome follow-through, and engines from the likes of motorcycles and sports cars resonate with a pleasant buzz of authority. The roar of that beastly inline 6-cylinder under the hood of Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 in Skyfall, for instance, is thick enough to jolt you awake if you were to somehow able to nod off in the first place.

You can thank that cute-looking subwoofer, which isn’t quite as musical or precise as we’d like, but offers plenty of fortitude, even rattling the blinds in our listening room during some of the more powerful explosions in Guardians of the Galaxy. And although a bit goes missing in the lower midrange as the top end of the sub merges with the low point of the sound bar, it’s nothing of consequence — especially at this price.

The DT Accessory Pack

Up your game and the get the most out of your gear with the following extras, hand-picked by our editors:

Monoprice optical toslink cable ($12)

Mediabridge ULTRA digital audio coaxial cable ($9)

Bentley Mounts universal soundbar bracket ($25)

The only other issues we had with the 203 included a lack of any real surround sound spacing (not surprising given the size) and an occasional tendency for the sound to break-up in the upper midrange slightly, giving a bit less clarity and resolution to upper brass instruments than we would’ve liked.

Still, when we spent time listening to our music catalog via Bluetooth, our complaints were few and far between. Moving from Peter Gabriel to Prince, the YAS-203 showed exemplary balance, precision, and clarity. The system’s deft hand at musical reproduction is something we just don’t expect in systems at this price point.

Conclusion

Yamaha’s YAS-203 has just the right mix of features, performance, and quality design to make it a top choice in its class. There are few competing solutions at this price point that can keep pace, making the 203 a prime choice for those seeking an affordable sonic upgrade for TV, movies, and music playback alike.

Highs

  • Excellent detail in subtler nuances and dialog
  • Clear and smooth treble
  • Powerful, balanced bass
  • Equally talented for music or movies
  • Solid feature set includes IR repeater

Lows

  • Brass/cymbals can break up in the treble
  • Would prefer second optical input to coaxial
Ryan Waniata
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Waniata is a multi-year veteran of the digital media industry, a lover of all things tech, audio, and TV, and a…
Sonos troubles continue as it lays off 200 employees
A Sonos Era 100 speaker next to an iPhone showing AirPlay speaker options.

Just a day after the next potential Sonos project was leaked -- a new streaming box -- more hard news has hit the company. In a call with employees, followed up by a post on the Sonos site titled "Team Update: Changes to the Way We Operate," interim CEO Tom Conrad announced a restructuring to the company. The result is layoffs of about 200 people. According to Sonos employment numbers from 2024, this accounts for about 12% of the company.

In the published statement, Conrad repeated what was stated in a company call just before. "One thing I’ve observed first hand is that we’ve become mired in too many layers that have made collaboration and decision-making harder than it needs to be. So across the company today we are reorganizing into flatter, smaller, and more focused teams," he said. "Most significantly, we are reorganizing our Product organization into functional groups for Hardware, Software, Design, Quality and Operations, and away from dedicated business units devoted to individual product categories."

Read more
JBL’s 100W portable Bluetooth has a nice discount today
The JBL PartyBox Encore 2.

The Super Bowl is only a few days away now, which means we can expect to see plenty of last-minute sales on TVs, soundbars, and other home theater gear. But if you want to treat your Super Bowl party guests to an evening of immersive audio they’ll never forget, you’ll want to have a solid Bluetooth speaker lying around. Fortunately, we came across a great sale while vetting through Bluetooth speaker deals:

For a limited time, when you purchase the JBL Partybox Encore Essential through Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and a handful of other retailers, you’ll only pay $250. The full MSRP on this model is $300.

Read more
This 85-inch Samsung QLED TV is $2,250 off — perfect for Super Bowl LIX
The Samsung 55-inch QNX1D Neo QLED on a white background.

If you've got friends and family coming over to watch Super Bowl LIX, you've still got time to purchase an upgrade for your home theater setup. You can make a big splash with the 85-inch Samsung QNX1D Neo QLED 4K TV, which is available with an attention-catching $2,250 discount from Samsung's TV deals that slashes its price from $4,000 all the way down to $1,750. You won't always get the chance to buy this display for less than half-price, so what are you waiting for? Proceed with the transaction right now to make sure that you get it in time for the big game.

Why you should buy the 85-inch Samsung QNX1D Neo QLED 4K TV
The Samsung QNX1D Neo QLED 4K TV, which is also known as the Samsung QN85D Neo QLED 4K TV, offers bright and accurate colors with its QLED TV technology, sharp details with 4K Ultra HD resolution on its 85-inch screen, smooth action with Motion Xcelerator Turbo 120Hz, and 3D surround sound with Dolby Atmos. With these features, it will be like you're watching Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans yourself. Experience every rush, pass, and touchdown as if you're in the stands with the Samsung QNX1D Neo QLED 4K TV.

Read more