SR-C30A

Overview

The SR-C30A is a compact Yamaha sound bar from 2022 that comes with a separate wireless subwoofer. Yamaha announced it in August 2022 for US sale from October 2022. The bar is 600 mm wide, 64 mm high and 94 mm deep, and Yamaha's press release calls it 30% smaller than its top-selling traditional sound bar. The subwoofer can stand upright or lie flat, and non-skid pads for either position come in the box. The bar can hang on the wall from its built-in keyholes.

Yamaha lists two 1.8-inch front drivers in the bar and a 5-1/8-inch driver in the subwoofer, with 90 W of total output power (20 W x 2 for the front channels, 50 W for the subwoofer).

The TV connects over HDMI ARC or optical. There is a second optical input and a 3.5 mm analog input for consoles and portable devices, and Bluetooth plays music from a phone. There is no Wi-Fi and no voice assistant. Yamaha lists Clear Voice for dialogue, Bass Extension, Adaptive Low Volume, which keeps the sound full at low volume, and four sound modes: Stereo, Standard, Game and 3D Movie.

You control the bar with the buttons on top, the included remote, the TV remote over HDMI control, or the Sound Bar Remote app for iOS and Android. The box contains the subwoofer, the remote with its battery, an AC adaptor, power cords, an optical cable, non-skid pads, a mounting template, spacers and the guides.

What the specs mean

• Speaker setup not stated: Yamaha does not give a channel count (such as 2.1) for the SR-C30A, so the table lists it as not stated.
• HDMI ARC, not eARC: the Audio Return Channel sends the TV's sound to the bar over one HDMI cable. HDMI.org describes eARC as the newer version that adds high-bitrate formats; the SR-C30A lists HDMI ARC.
• Audio formats: Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II and two-channel PCM. The user guide lists no DTS support.
• Wireless subwoofer: the subwoofer links to the bar over 2.4 GHz, so only its power cord needs a wall outlet.
• No HDMI passthrough: the bar has no HDMI input, so a console or streaming box connects to the TV.
• Not expandable: Yamaha lists no wireless surround speakers for the SR-C30A.