kalstewart1971

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have had the Yamaha a526's for quite some time and they are far beyond broken in, however, the more I listen to them the better I like them. Previously, I wondered about the weight of the box and the distribution and standing waves, so I filled the box with simply with foam pillow stuffing and the sound just went through the roof. The sound is now more detailed, focused and weighted. The mass of the box is now heavier than before but its all for the better. The treble is very clear and transient, but not harsh as one would find with a metal or alloy tweeter. The midrange and mid-bass was the most improved with the mass filling of this speaker box. When playing music, the vocals are more weighted and is more defined. Do not get me wrong, previous to the filling being installed, the speaker in its original form sounded good, but isn't it worth your while to go from good to great?
I currently run the a526's with a Yamaha RX-V595, that pushes approximately 70 watts per channel in stereo mode. I have these integrated into my home theater set up with a pair of Yamaha NS-a426's as surrounds, a Yamaha AC 141 center channel and two powered 8' subwoofers, with a crossover setting at 125Hz. I must admit, this is not an expensive set up, however, I could not be more pleased with this system. If anyone can find a pair of these, I believe that you would be well pleased, however please keep in mind, this is only a 6.5 woofer so do not expect it to have the bass response of a larger woofer, like an 8' or 10', you must mate it with a good subwoofer. However, for speed and accuracy, these are very good.

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Sun TV

Summary:
Picked these up to serve as fronts for a super cheap second home theater in the house. I assumed that they would not be good for music, but then we moved and I stuck them into the cabinets of an entertainment center as temporary until I could get some better bookshelf speakers. So far I have tried out one pair that were 350 dollars, and I actually preferred the Yamahas. Can''t really criticize the sound, except not much base. Yet contained in the cabinet of the entertainment center this seems to augment the base to create an adequate level.

Strengths:
good sound for the price

Weaknesses:
can''t think of any at this price

Price Paid:  $50.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
This is a great bookshelf speaker that offers efficiency, natural sound, and very clear highs. I was so used to listening to cheap tower speakers, that when I bought these I was amazed by the treble; There was a night and day difference. I didn't expect these speakers to have much bass and they don't. The midrange response is decent but it's not going to shake the room. All in all, this speaker works like it was designed to, and for the amount of money that I paid, I couldn't have asked for anything more. After listening to these speakers, it made me realize what quality sound really was. I would actually give these speakers a 4.3 star rating.

Strengths:
Extremely great buy (was a summer special in Crutchfield.) Very clear highs, decent midrange, very natural sound, great surround speakers.

Weaknesses:
Highs are just a wee bit bright and bass is lacking.