Product Review
  • Yamaha YST-SW216BL
  • Yamaha YST-SW216BL 2
  • Yamaha YST-SW216BL 3
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Yamaha YST-SW216BL Advanced YST II Front-Firing

Mid priced home theater subwoofer.
The Good

There is no denying that the low price definitely works in this subs favor. Coupled with strong home theater performance and a relatively wide dynamic range this subwoofer becomes an all around good buy in the home theater marketplace.

The Bad

The YST-SW216BL is not the most attractive of speakers, ideally subwoofers should be hidden and out of the way, but this ones boxy design might make that a challenge. This sub is also not appropriate for an audiophile's music system. Being slightly underpowered and having a slow bass response makes music sound muddied and washed out.

Full StarFull StarHalf StarEmpty StarEmpty Star The Verdict

This front firing subwoofer (like so many others in its price class) makes an excellent addition to a home theater setup, and an even better upgrade to a cheap home theater kit. The sound reproduction is not quite responsive enough to make this a great buy for an audio system, but for home theaters it's a good deal.

Staff Reviewed (Default Seal for Staff Written Reviews)

A Good Home Theater Option From Yamaha

Decent home theater subwoofer, but not made for home audio.

The Yamaha YST-SW216BL is an interesting addition to the world of subwoofers. It has many high end subwoofer features like an integrated hi cutoff filter, and noise reduction technology; yet it maintains features expected on much lower priced subwoofers, like a front firing exposed cone design. I suppose the high end features and the low end design cancel each other out and we are left with a mid range subwoofer priced accordingly. 

I was not a fan of the Yamaha's design. The enclosure is essentially a matte black cube with a cloth covered portal encasing the forward firing driver. I wouldn't call it ugly, but I definitely would not call this sub attractive either. The somewhat unusual shape of the enclosure—especially the protruding grille-- may present problems for some people when they’re trying to find a suitable location to place it. 

This subwoofer, like other mid priced solutions, performed well in  home theater testing, however faired poorly when used as part of a music system. Despite manufacture claims that the YST-SW216BL has a quick bass response, I found the Yamaha subwoofer to be sluggish and inappropriate for quick music that is big on bass like techno, rock, or even some classical. That said, the sound did carry plenty of power-- even rattling some papers I had on a table across the room. Power is not everything though and the Yamaha subwoofer failed to reproduce some of the more subtle bass sounds in music.

Luckily for the Yamaha, subtly is not always necessary for movie watching. The boom factor is what really counts, making this model an excellent home theater subwoofer. If you can find a place for it, and don't mind its rather unfortunate looks, the Yamaha YST-SW216BL will make a great addition to any mid priced home theater setup. It would pair especially well as an upgrade to a cheap home theater kit.

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