Yamaha's 2018 streaming sound bar gives a beefy performance
Audio
[MUSIC]
Yamaha is one of the biggest names in sound bars, and its products are typically well-designed and sound great for the money.
The Yamaha MusicCast Bar 400, unsurprisingly, is also a solid performer, and it adds some useful new features.
For example, you can now pad the soundbar with wireless rears for better surround sound.
But the 400 isn't a slouch in the AV department.
It already includes DTS Virtual:X for convincing home theater sound.
In addition, music is also well served by this speaker.
It's a real upgrade from your TV's sound.
This loud subwoofer also takes part of the credit, as this system can go deeper and louder than most competitors Under 500 bucks.
Connections include 4K compatible HDMI in and out, digital optical, and an analog port.
The system also includes most of the streaming features you need including AirPlay, Spotify Connect.
Bluetooth and of course, Yamaha's own music car system.
One thing I've found is that it can be hard to tell if the [UNKNOWN] is on or not.
The power lights turn off after a few seconds and video will play via the HDMI port whether it's on or off.
It can be confusing when you can see a picture but the sound doesn't work.
However the sound bar does support HDMI CEC so you can set it up so that turning on the TV also turns on the sound bar.
I don't usually advise spending any more than $500 on a set up like this.
But the Yamaha sits right in that sweet spot.
And most competitive systems also lack a separate sub.
If you spend time setting up the Yamaha Music [UNKNOWN] Bar 400 just right, it'll be a real upgrade for your 4K TV.
