None, really.

Sound terrible, cost quite a bit.

These new Yamaha speakers sound terrible. I mean, really bad. Sound is very tinny and distant. It goes without saying that there is _no_ bass (okay, midbass at best, let's be realistic). Very cheap construction and 'chintzy' finish.

For comparison I have my three year-old YST-M10's which, for cheap (~$99) computer speakers, sound great.

Similar Products Used:

YST-M10's (apparently discontinued)

pretty musical for a computer speaker, good features, good value

weak bass, needs a subwoofer for full range, some ways not as good as older YST-M10

I have to disagree with the previous review, calling the YST-M15 tinny and weak and far inferior to their precessors, the M10. I own both the M10 and M15, and while the M10 was a very good speaker and is in some ways superior, the fact is that i have retired the M10 and use my M15's now (albeit with an Altec subwoofer). I have a feeling he did not break in his speakers enough (all speakers need break-in, and the yamahas all seem to need at least a week or two of usage to sound decent).

To start with, the M15s have nice features missing from a lot of similar speakers. hey have two seperate inputs, with a level control on the first to let you adjust the volume of one relative to another (very handy). they also have a subwoofer output which i use with an Altec subwoofer. The sound is actually quite musical if bass-shy, with very good imaging, relative clear midrange, and clean if somewhat attenuated high frequencies. Although i hate tone controls, the built-in tone control is actually quite useful and lets you compensate a little for the slightly-muted high frequencies.

In comparison to the old M10's, the bass is a bit weaker, but the high frequencies seem much more present and neutral, and the mid to upper range less colored overall. the M10s had a very warm and fuzzy presentation that was very pleasant, but not necessarily accurate. The M15's give up some bass for a little more transparency in the upper ranges. They also sound quite good when combined with a subwoofer, which isn't possible with the M10s since they have no sub out.

So in summary, this is a quite decent speaker at a decent price (~$45 at buy.com i believe). However, if you want something even better for the same price, i recommend the YST-MS30 3-piece system for $50 (amazon.com, buy.com) with a $20 rebate until July 31. It is a very musical system for only $30 net.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha YST-M10, YST-M8, YST-MS30, various Altec & Cambridge Soundworks