Summary:
I just finished buying speakers for a home theatre. I looked at Yamaha, Polk Audio RM6500, and Bose AM-10 and AM-15.

I was impressed by the sound of the Yamahas. They were way better than the Bose, and slightly better than the Polks. (I actually compared the speakers side-by-side in my house.) They were also a lot less expensive.

Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Not quite. There were a few things I didn't like.

First, these are ugly speakers! The satellites look sort of like oval car stereo speakers that you've hung on the wall, and when you put one on your TV for the center channel, it looks REALLY out of place.

Which brings me to the second problem, you don't want to put one on your TV anyway, cause the magnetic shielding doesn't work. When I put one on my 32" Toshiba, it put a 2" blue semi-circle on the screen.

By the way, comparing these to the Bose or Polks (or similar small satellites) is sort of unfair, since the Yamahas are a good bit larger speakers. They really qualify more as small bookshelf speakers, than as satellites. If you are considering these Yamahas, you should probably consider other bookshelf speakers as well.

If you don't mind the looks and don't have to put one on your TV, these Yamahas may be the speakers for you. As for me, I took them back and kept the Polks.

Strengths:
Good Sound, Low Price

Weaknesses:
Poor Magnetic Shielding, Ugly speakers!

Similar Products Used:
Polk Audio RM6500, Bose AM-10 & AM-15

Summary:
Comes packaged with a 10" powered sub that tosses rich bass throughout my entire neighborhood. The satellite have a very full range of sound. I am running this system through a Yamaha 495 dd reciever. This surround package accents my digital satellite and dvd player. Just got finished watching the Matrix and i am still trying to close my mouth (little jaw dropping humor). I am also using a 15" cerwin vega sub for my low lows. All in all I'd say I am very pleased with my purchase. I can not yet comment on the reliability of this system as i have just purchased it. In combination with my dual subs, this package is also ideal for music. The satellite can carry a surprising amount of mid-bass. System exceeded my expectations.

Strengths:
Amazing sound for such a small package. bose acoustimass has nothing on this one and its a lot less expensive.

Similar Products Used:
Bose A-mass, infinity minuette(not L series)

Summary:
This sat/sub system sounded great in the store. I purchased at Best Buy, open-box for $299. I am somewhat satisfied with it but am returning it mainly because the sats are very hollow when listening to music. After having it for two weeks I replaced the front sats with Yamaha 637's. Maybe my problem is that I don't have digital devices yet but I think that I would do better with a good sub and full-range bookshelf speakers.

Summary:
You just can not beat this system for the money. I compared this system to my friends $3,000 set of NHT's. Now he's upset that he wasted all that money. The sound is crisp and clear. I only paid $320 for an open box buy at Best Buy. Wow.

Summary:
I have listened to several speaker systems in the audio rooms at bb and cc. I really liked the sound of these speakers better than any other. After reading the reviews on the Yamaha CLS100's im definately sold. Can you get them cheaper somewhere other than BB? Send me a note and let me know.