Although virtual surround sound will never match the experience of true multi-speaker systems, the virtue of a virtual system is the space-saving design and, more importantly, the lack of wires strewn throughout your home theater room. Creating an entirely new category, dubbed Digital Sound Projection, the $1,500 Yamaha YSP-1 truly breaks the mold for surround sound systems as a discreet sound system offering a surround-sound experience without five physical speakers.

How it Works
The compact Yamaha YSP-1 system consists of just one 40-inch-long component, giving true multi-channel sound and it can be placed anywhere, whether wall- or table-mounted. Like all virtual surround systems, the YSP-1 uses the reflective properties of your walls to recreate a surround-sound experience. However, this one-piece system has 42 individual speakers, each with its own amplifier. Yamaha’s projection technology controls the timing and power of the speakers to create five separate audio "beams," effectively increasing the size of the all important “sweet spot” for optimal surround sound.

A bright blue, small LCD screen allows a preset remote to control room size, room type, and angles to create true multi-channel surround sound in virtually any sized room.

Sweet Sounds
With built-in sound decoders (DTS/Neo:6/Dolby Digital/ PLII/), the YSP-1’s two 4.5-inch subwoofers and 120-Watts of total power offers an extremely satisfying surround-sound movie experience. It's surprisingly accurate, especially compared to other virtual systems. Bullets whizzed by and pinged off objects all around me. The bass doesn’t overwhelm, but there is a connector for an external subwoofer, which is highly recommended. There are also three digital connectors (2x optical and coaxial) and two stereo analog inputs.

Two-channel (also known as stereo) music sounds clear, and with an added subwoofer supplies even more oomph for the biggest bass-head.

Final Word
The YSP-1 has no equal for those wanting the best surround sound without all the speakers and cabling hassles. As the Best of Show Winner of G4TV’s Best of CES awards, the Yamaha YSP-1 measures up to the hype.

Pros: Compact one-component system; best non five-piece surround system
Con: Weak bass without an external subwoofer

Company: Yamaha
Price: $1500
Available: Now