• The French bought 576,000 sound bars in 2021, a success which should be confirmed this year with the World Cup.

  • With his SR-C30A, the inventor of Yamaha soundbars is advancing a small

    soundbar

    on the field equipped with a wireless subwoofer suitable for playing games.

  • Test in support, the device which is sold 379 euros, turns out to be an excellent player, even if it lacks Dolby Atmos compatibility.

A few miles from the final of the Football World Cup, it's time to prepare for the big night and enjoy the last matches.

If you can't sit in the air-conditioned stands of the Lusail Stadium, you can follow the final on December 18 in front of your television set in the warmth of your living room.

And to set the mood, 20 Minutes installed Yamaha's new SR-C30A soundbar (in 5 minutes!), uncapped a few cans, had the pizzas delivered and listened...

17 years of soundbars

We'll play the game again for you: it was in 2005 that Yamaha unveiled the first sound bar (ref: YSP-1) in history.

The one then called “digital sound projector” was already placed in front of the televisions, and incorporated some 40 4 cm loudspeakers, and two 11 cm boomers.

It was sold for 1,000 euros.

17 years later, the new SR-C30A soundbar from the Japanese manufacturer plays the card of simplicity.

90 watts for small spaces

Dedicated to small spaces, it is made up of a 60 x 6.4 x 9.4 cm sound bar (for 1.3 kg).

It only incorporates two 4.6 cm and 20 watt speakers.

In addition, a wireless subwoofer, with a 13 cm woofer for a power of 50 watts.

The set is sold for 369 euros.

This is roughly the average price of a soundbar on the French market in 2022. If we do the math, the SR-C30A sends 90 watts and it is, ultimately, quite sufficient, as we found in the test.

A remote control and an application

The device of a rather plastic construction, but with beautiful finishes, is installed in five minutes.

Simply connect the bar to the TV via HDMI (cable not supplied) or/and optical (cable supplied) and, like its box, plug it into the mains.

Too thick (6.4 cm), we were unable to place it under the Samsung Frame TV that we used for our tests, but just in front, without its presence being a visual handicap.



Supplied with a remote control that provides access to most of its functions, the SR-C30A also offers an application for use from a smartphone.

Through one and the other, four sound modes are offered: Stereo, Standard, 3D Movie, and Game.

So many names that speak for themselves.

With Stereo, it is thus possible to use the sound bar to listen to music via Bluetooth from your mobile.

The Standard mode is reserved for classic TV programs.

As for the 3D Movie and Game modes, we will have fun evaluating the one that best suits our ears for series, films and video games.

The mention “3D” implies a spatialized soundstage.

Test in support, let's say that it is expanded here, with more vigor in the dialogues.

But no real

surround

effects to expect, on the other hand.

For its part, the Game mode seems to thicken the low frequencies.

For the matches, do your own tests, but we advise you to associate the chosen mode with the “Clear Voice” function from Yamaha.

This enhances the sound level of the dialogues.

What better way to hear the commentators at the time of the goal!

We also recommend this function for evening viewing if you live in an apartment.

Thanks to “Clear Voice”, which is quite effective (even if the function reinforces the treble), it is no longer necessary to turn up the sound to better hear the dialogues of blockbuster films, for example.

To be used without moderation, late, so as not to get confused with its neighbours...

Dolby Atmos on the bench

Ergonomics, efficiency, audio quality, nothing to complain about: the SR-C30A fulfills its mission perfectly.

Its power is sufficient and the

soundbar

offers volume and breadth to all soundstages.

With it, listening to music is also very appreciable, the device having given a lot of flesh to the songs listened to during our tests.



And the SR-C30A is perfectly cut for small spaces, in particular thanks to its discreet box which is no wider (15 cm) than the height of a smartphone!

Too bad that the Dolby Atmos compatibility of this beautiful carriage remained on the sidelines.

At a similar price, some competitors embrace 360° sound (however sometimes with more or less success), such as the HS512 soundbar from Hisense (sold for 349 euros), or the HW-S60B from Samsung (399 euros), this latest model is also much more powerful with its announced 340 watts.

In the field of sound bars, there is a real risk of sport!

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The bar boom

This is a score that many manufacturers of tech products envy: at the end of 2021, a sound bar was bought in France for every five televisions sold (source: Gfk).

It was twice as many as in 2020, i.e. 576,000 soundbars sold last year!

While waiting for the 2022 sales report, we can predict that the Football World Cup will also have participated in the public's enthusiasm for these speakers dedicated to televisions.


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