(NEW) Yamaha SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers (Open Box)
$96.08
$199.95
52% off
Reference Price
Condition: New; Open Box
Top positive review
21 people found this helpful
Excellent for the price
By N. Vollrath on Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2023
Using this for watching motorcycle races on my monitor and for playing computer games, plus occasional music. Out of the box everything worked perfectly, set-up is very easy including Bluetooth, and although I did scan the instructions the truth is it’s pretty obvious what buttons do what. Has a nice little remote control (battery included). I have mine connected to my computer via Bluetooth - just turn on the soundbar, go to your computer settings screen, select “bluetooth” and click on the Yamaha option. Easy as pie. Except that I’ve never made a pie and would probably find it quite difficult. So ignore my dearth of baking talent and let’s move on, shall we? Sound is good! Considering the size and price ($129 on sale) it’s excellent! The 3D sound feature actually works and I can say I’ve never noticed such features work ever before on anything else. Somehow it fools my ears to believe sound is coming from far off to the sides…I like it. My main desire for any sound system is bass, though, and I bought this specifically because folks said it had good bass. The sound, not the fish. To keep you in suspenders (ha!) one minute longer, the mids and highs are great - clear, clean, quality you’d expect from the tuning fork people - and it does not sound like the vast majority of Bluetooth speakers, even expensive name brands, which I find always sound muted and/or hollow. Even big name BT speakers always sound pretty poor, in my arrogant opinion. Not this one. This sounds like it’s a real soundbar and just happens to be operating over BT. On the same vein, even the bigger BT speakers that claim to be bass monsters leave me underwhelmed. Disappointed. Aggrieved. Other words that mean ‘let down because no boom-boom good’. So how about this here Yammy-haw? Surprisingly good! That’s correct! Initially I was mildly okay with it as I played Teach Me How to Dougie; that’s my go-to bass comparison song because (a) it has very deep bass, (b) I like the song, and (c) there is no C. It was never going to shake the walls but it provided a little vibration to the desktop on which the soundbar rested. Eh. Turned on and off the Bass Extend button a few times, feeling a bit disappointed once again but blaming myself for having hope to begin with. Then I looked at the remote and paused momentarily. There in rubberized glory is a volume button for subwoofer!?! I increased the sub. It helped. I did it more. It helped more. I pushed that button till I knew it could hold no more, and hallelujah the bass came alive!!! It’s still a small soundbar with small speakers, but it made me soooo happy to actually get the desk to jiggle and to feel just a little salving bass massaging my soul! It will never replace a really, really good sound system. I have Sonos surround for the big TV which makes the house shake, but for playing Call of Duty or StarCraft or watching MotoGP racing this is way better than merely adequate. It’s enjoyable! And the surround feature thing is kinda like icing on the cake, although who eats cake without icing anyway? Seriously. Even muffins and cupcakes get icing. Iiiiiiiiicing…. Anyway, happy? YES! Long-winded? Also yes! Will you be happy with it? How would I know? But if you don’t require the windows to rattle while watching TV, or if you’re not in a financial place to buy a massive surround sound system, or if you just want decent noises for your computer games, this is definitely great sound for the price point. Best I have ever heard for the price, and I have a LOT of disappointing speakers cluttering up drawers and cupboards to base that from. I also ended that defense with a preposition. Dad would be so annoyed. He thought he taught me better. Quit reading this and go buy the soundbar already!
Top critical review
12 people found this helpful
ARC issues
By MWZ on Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2023
I purchased this soundbar mostly for two reasons. I trusted Yamaha to make a good sounding product, secondly because it has an analog sub woofer output. I assumed that since Yamaha doesn't build TV's that they would be more likely to be compatible with most brands. TV manufacturers bar's would always work with their own TV's, but what about other brands? Unfortunately HDMI Audio Return does not work between my new TCL TV and this sound bar. It works fine with optical and I'm able to control volume with the TCL remote so its not the end of the world, but definitely a disappointment. Their tech support responded, but didn't really have much advice other than trying other HDMI cables. I have one cable that ARC works intermittently, and purchased a new cable that's specified for it which doesn't work at all. I need an analog sub woofer output. I have an existing sub that's great, I wanted to use it. That part worked out well, it integrates with my powered sub nicely. It has enough bottom end of its own that the crossover to the external sub is smooth. For a lot of programing the bottom end from this soundbar is OK without the sub woofer, but it definitely is needed for some movies. In terms of sound quality it's just OK. I wasn't expecting much by way of surround sound, nor was I looking for that. It doesn't actually have much by the way of stereo separation either. The clear voice feature does work, and was a reason for me selecting this one. But if the mid's were more clear it might not be necessary. The bottom end is decent without my sub, I don't expect big bottom out of anything this small. All in all this isn't a terrible soundbar, and it isn't priced as a premium product. I'd be happier if ARC worked, and would be happier if the midrange was more defined.
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Excellent for the price
By N. Vollrath - Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2023
Verified Amazon Purchase
Using this for watching motorcycle races on my monitor and for playing computer games, plus occasional music. Out of the box everything worked perfectly, set-up is very easy including Bluetooth, and although I did scan the instructions the truth is it’s pretty obvious what buttons do what. Has a nice little remote control (battery included). I have mine connected to my computer via Bluetooth - just turn on the soundbar, go to your computer settings screen, select “bluetooth” and click on the Yamaha option. Easy as pie. Except that I’ve never made a pie and would probably find it quite difficult. So ignore my dearth of baking talent and let’s move on, shall we? Sound is good! Considering the size and price ($129 on sale) it’s excellent! The 3D sound feature actually works and I can say I’ve never noticed such features work ever before on anything else. Somehow it fools my ears to believe sound is coming from far off to the sides…I like it. My main desire for any sound system is bass, though, and I bought this specifically because folks said it had good bass. The sound, not the fish. To keep you in suspenders (ha!) one minute longer, the mids and highs are great - clear, clean, quality you’d expect from the tuning fork people - and it does not sound like the vast majority of Bluetooth speakers, even expensive name brands, which I find always sound muted and/or hollow. Even big name BT speakers always sound pretty poor, in my arrogant opinion. Not this one. This sounds like it’s a real soundbar and just happens to be operating over BT. On the same vein, even the bigger BT speakers that claim to be bass monsters leave me underwhelmed. Disappointed. Aggrieved. Other words that mean ‘let down because no boom-boom good’. So how about this here Yammy-haw? Surprisingly good! That’s correct! Initially I was mildly okay with it as I played Teach Me How to Dougie; that’s my go-to bass comparison song because (a) it has very deep bass, (b) I like the song, and (c) there is no C. It was never going to shake the walls but it provided a little vibration to the desktop on which the soundbar rested. Eh. Turned on and off the Bass Extend button a few times, feeling a bit disappointed once again but blaming myself for having hope to begin with. Then I looked at the remote and paused momentarily. There in rubberized glory is a volume button for subwoofer!?! I increased the sub. It helped. I did it more. It helped more. I pushed that button till I knew it could hold no more, and hallelujah the bass came alive!!! It’s still a small soundbar with small speakers, but it made me soooo happy to actually get the desk to jiggle and to feel just a little salving bass massaging my soul! It will never replace a really, really good sound system. I have Sonos surround for the big TV which makes the house shake, but for playing Call of Duty or StarCraft or watching MotoGP racing this is way better than merely adequate. It’s enjoyable! And the surround feature thing is kinda like icing on the cake, although who eats cake without icing anyway? Seriously. Even muffins and cupcakes get icing. Iiiiiiiiicing…. Anyway, happy? YES! Long-winded? Also yes! Will you be happy with it? How would I know? But if you don’t require the windows to rattle while watching TV, or if you’re not in a financial place to buy a massive surround sound system, or if you just want decent noises for your computer games, this is definitely great sound for the price point. Best I have ever heard for the price, and I have a LOT of disappointing speakers cluttering up drawers and cupboards to base that from. I also ended that defense with a preposition. Dad would be so annoyed. He thought he taught me better. Quit reading this and go buy the soundbar already!
Good Sound For Flat Screen TV
By Charles W. - Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023
Verified Amazon Purchase
I have an 82” LG smart TV (it’s 6 feet wide). It has great pictures but not so great sound with the internal speakers. I wanted the sound bar to operate seamlessly with just the TV remote because my wife is not good with complicated set ups. I use the HDMI ARC Jack to connect to the sound bar and set the TV sound to HDMI ARC and it works seamlessly with the TV remote. The set also has a single optical output and I use a an optical splitter/repeater to connect to the optical “TV” input jack on the sound bar and to my home stereo. When I watch movies I select optical out on the TV set and the sound bar automatically switches to the optical input as the HDMI ARC is dead then (my TV doesn’t allow both HDMI ARC and optical audio output at the same time). I turn on the stereo and select the optical output from the TV. My stereo and the speaker bar are in perfect phase (no out of phase echo on dialog) and the speaker bar effectively acts as the center speaker. I wouldn’t say the speaker bar by itself is a great music speaker system, though it’s probably considerably better than no external speaker and listening to your iPhone or iPad. It has a reasonable low end response, but does not have a true thumping bass response. It’s a matter of physics - It’s very hard to get good base out of a speaker so thin. But it does a good job for ordinary use. And in conjunction with an external good quality stereo is an excellent center speaker. I urge you to look up the Yamaha App for your smart phone or tablet. It gives you feedback of the settings and a way to adjust the things. Using the remote works but interpreting the over-simplified built in status lights is a pain. But the Yamaha App solves that. Be aware that there is more than one in App Store but only this one works with this sound bar. (See the screenshot). The good: (1) Works well as a speaker bar seamlessly controlled by the TV remote when connected to the HDMI ARC of the TV. Better sound than the original TV speakers. (2) Works very well as a center channel audio speaker when using an external stereo with both the sound bar and the stereo fed from the TV’s optical output. (3) The App let’s you see and control the should bar settings. (4) Automatically selects the correct input HDMI ARC or TV optical based on which is active from the TV. Room for improvement: (1) An optical pass-through output would be appreciated for use by an external stereo when using the sound bar as a center speaker. Note: If you observe audio sync problems (lips out of sync with audio) go to the TV’s audio set up. My TV has an option for adjusting the video to audio sync. It’s not the fault of the sound bar and it’s correctable. Update: I originally mentioned that the sound bar automatically selects between the HDMI ARC input and Optical TV input depending on which has a signal. It does not always and consistently do that. I changed the hook up so that I use the separate dedicated optical input for the optical input from the TV and manually select the “Optical Input” when I am running on the optical sound output from the TV. (Only necessary because my TV does not have a mode that allows using both the optical output and the HDMI ARC outputs simultaneously.) This did not affect my rating of the sound bar. By the way the primary reason for using the optical input is that it allows me to use my existing high end stereo for movie sound (via optical input) and the sound bar as the center speaker. Also using optical for both the sound bar and the stereo makes the sound bar perfectly in phase with the stereo - No echos or distortions.
Not perfect but good
By Mark L. - Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
This is a good replacement for your TV speakers. Keep in mind it is not surround sound. it does have built in sub woofer speakers, 3 inch, you will not hear booming, rattle the windows bass, but, it does help. Two points that kept it from receiving 5 stars, when you change volume the display on my Samsung TV, it will show you are changing the volume, however no numbers are displayed. You can see the volume numbers in the app, but that means you have to grab your phone. The second one is if you are placing the bar on a TV stand the speakers face up, not toward you. If you are mounting it on a wall the speakers would face you. I was able to mount mine behind my TV on the TV legs so the speakers face forward. The remote is basic, for me it is not needed for volume control since my TV remote works with the soundbar. For the bar to sync with your TV you need an ARC, eARC HDMI or an optical port on the TV. If you are using the ARC or eARC HDMI port on the TV you need to buy or have an ARC or eARC HDMI cable. An optical cable is supplied with the speaker. Bottom Line: Price for what this soundbar is, not bad. Sound is good Setup was easy, Plug and Play (Samsung TV) Volume numbers not displaying on the TV screen and the speakers location in the soundbar could be an issue for some.
Like This One Now!
By RickSo - Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
Verified Amazon Purchase
Bought this and the Yamaha SR-B20A since both looked good... on paper. Yamaha SR-B20A $149 Denon DHT-217 $198 Yamaha SR-B20A vs. Denon DHT-217 Bought the Yamaha and installed vertically on the back wall above my TV, connected using ARC HDMI. The Yamaha sounded too dynamic, voice too soft and music/effects too loud. Bass seemed too overwhelming. Treble “S” sounds are a little loud. Since I wasn’t initially happy with the Yamaha, I bought the Denon ($50 more) and really hoped it was going to sound better. Placed it atop the Yamaha and swapped back and forth each day for about a week. Voice and soundtrack music/effects just didn’t sound right on the Denon. I tried all its settings, but couldn’t get a good sound from the Denon, and its response to the remote was annoyingly slow. It also failed to turn on once. Now I’ve bought two sound bars and don’t really like either one! Then I started tweaking the Yamaha. The medium compression setting nicely leveled out the dynamics (download the User Manual!). Then I lowered the sub level and turned on bass enhancement which smoothed out the bass. A nice plus is the phone app, so if the remote breaks or gets lost, you still have control from your phone. “S” sounds are a bit too loud at times, but I can deal with it. What finally sold me though was that at times from an adjacent room I think the voice from the Yamaha is actually coming from a person on the TV room. Did not try music over Bluetooth on either sound bar as I don’t intend on using it that way. I’m now happy with the Yamaha and the Denon will be returned. Yamaha Good: Horizontal or vertical mounting Bass boost 2-level compression setting Phone app Quick unmute and mode changes Bad: Sounds too dynamic without compression “S” sounds are a bit too loud Looks large when mounted vertically Remote feels a bit flimsy and uses coin cell battery Denon Good: 3-level voice enhancement Sleek looking Remote uses AAA batteries Bad: Night Mode sounds awful, is all midrange The 3-level voice enhancement not very useful. 1 does nothing, 2 is just ok, 3 is too much, too nasal sounding Unmute and mode changes take about a second
Great sound, easy setup
By Bass Payer - Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
Very impressive
4.5 Stars actually - voice enhancement less than hoped for. It does NOT work with all TVs
By Randall W. Rasner - Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
Review of YAMAHA SR-B20A Sound Bar with Built-in Subwoofers and Bluetooth I researched a LOT before settling on this sound bar and even had to send a different brand back due to a problem right out of the box. I was looking for a sound bar with voice enhancement/clarifying capabilities. But, I wanted a subwoofer too, and not just a TV speaker with voice enhancement. I am in my 60s but have always suffered some hearing loss ever since serving in the military in the artillery. This is a real sound bar and has dual subwoofers built in. It DOES NOT work with older TVs (more below). Likes: It has Bluetooth capabilities. This came well packaged and was easy to hook up. The sound is pretty darned good for having built in subwoofers. The remote works well and is responsive. It will come on and go off with your TV. Voice enhancement was helpful, but not as much as I had hoped. It is a decent looking sound bar too. The controls on the sound bar work well should the remote fail for some reason. It produces all the sound I need and the different modes work nicely and are easily chosen via the remote buttons, which are well labeled. Dislikes: It does not enhance/clarify the voices as well as I had hoped. You can tell some difference, but I still use closed captioning when anyone else is present in the home, including when I have my fur grandson as I don't want to hurt his ears. It DOES NOT work with older TVs, or at least it did not work with my Samsung that was almost 9 years old. It had HDMI and the digital optical output too. The sound bar did not work with both, or one of either plugged in. I ended up having to buy a new TV that had eARC HDMI available. At first, I had got hold of Yamaha customer service and explained what the issue was before I bought the new TV. Their customer service said it was a problem with the Samsung settings and I would have to contact Samsung. There were no settings in my older Samsung as they described so I hooked the sound bar up to a slightly newer VIZIO that my daughter's room had in it and the sound bar worked. I was just tired of messing around at this point and bought a new LG TV with eARC. All in all, I am pleased with the purchase although not happy with their tech support or claims that it will work with most and even older TVs.
Great sound, easy set up, and tunable to taste
By SKR513 - Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2023
Verified Amazon Purchase
Did a fair amount of research for a sound bar in family room. Was hoping for a significant upgrade from my terrible TV speakers that made voice nearly inaudible among plenty of annoying noise from ‘sound trickery’ audio processing. Goals were modest cost (not a prayer I’m spending $500-1000+ for ‘high end’ bars, I already have a solid full range system), ease of use (so, ARC), Bluetooth, good looking (none are great looking IMO), no Google or Alexa (have plenty of those), and no sub (ugly in a family room IMO). Mounted this to the wall (template helps level and ID hole placement), ARC made instant setup easy with my TV, instant recognition and working as quick as you can plug in power and the HDMI cable (NOT INCLUDED). Bass is plenty for what I expected, a bit better actually. Sounds high quality and warm, not tinny or hard like some. Dialogue enhancement makes a big difference. Plenty loud for watching a game with a crowd or Netflix streaming with the kids. Will still use the media room/full range system for big movies, but this will take over some light lifting from that system and the rest of the TV duties for sure. Will it replace a surround system? Heck no - if anyone says it’s even close, they don’t know audio. Nothing replaces front and rear full range speakers and subs with a high quality receiver. But this Yamaha is a great sounding, affordable bar with plenty of audio options to tune sound to preference. Recommend using the Yamaha app for fine tuning, but once set, I will just leave settings as is for 95% of use. Nice to have Bluetooth streaming for times that we just want to clean house or cook and listen to playlists. If I didn’t already hav Alexa Studio in same room, would have probably wanted that feature. Hope that helps anyone searching around.
Works better with optical wire than with hdmi.
By Stella B. - Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
Nice sound bar but could be a little louder.
Great price and quality
By Josh Reviewed - Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
Speaker is loud and has good bass. Slim design and functionality are great for hiding speak behind smart TV. The remote is not so good.
Much better than TV speakers
By Stumpy - Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2024
Verified Amazon Purchase
It sounds OK. If you are expecting BIG BASS you will be disappointed. Calling these 3" speakers subwoofers is a stretch. It does have a subwoofer out which I have not yet used. It sounds a lot better than the wimpy speakers in my 50" LG ONED tv. You will need a HDMI cable that supports version 2.1 and eARC. None of the older cables I had that supported ARC and version 2.0 would work. Found a Onn brand cable at WM for $12 that did the trick in a pinch. There are less expensive options available on Amazon but wanted it working now. The DTS Virtual: X virtual 3D surround sound feature works well.
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