Home > Consumer Reviews > Yamaha YSTMS50W 2.1 Computer Speakers (3-Speaker, White)

I've owned these speakers since last year, and I'm as awestruck today as I was when I first brought them home. I had been waffling on new speakers for a long time -- you know, they're not a necessity, should I indulge myself, etc.. All this agonizing despite the fact that I store most of my music (about 10 gigabytes) on the computer. Finally, I stumbled into a computer store with a speaker display that included these Yamahas, and my inner debate ended instantly. I couldn't even wait to go home and order them online ... I had to have these things hooked up that day. I've been in sonic heaven ever since.

The low end in this subwoofer is beyond merely powerful, beyond merely fat, beyond merely distortion-free. (Your ears will buckle before these speakers ever will.) The low end is absolutely beautiful: sweet, tight, smooth (geez, I don't mean this to sound erotic), and, as many have pointed out, musical. I guarantee that any discriminating listener will find these speakers revelatory--you'll hear things in your music that you never heard before. I keep the volume knob on the subwoofer set to 6.5 (like 1:30 on a clock face) for a window-rattling, gut-clutching experience. Turning it up farther would make me fear for the structural stability of my home. My neighbors hate me, but I can't stop. My computer is now my main hi-fi system, despite owning a pair of JBL 4312 studio monitors in the other room. Even they don't match the excitement and transparency of these puppies.

Remarkably, these speakers deliver at any volume, without losing warmth or depth even when played whisper-soft.

I will note that the high end isn't as crisp and glittery as I like. But a little tweaking of the Winamp equalizer when playing MP3s solves that insufficiency. And my discriminating friends think I overdo it on the high end, so you might find the Yahamas perfect without any EQ treatment.

I'd be thrilled with this purchase if it cost twice as much. (In fact, I did pay 50 percent more than the price here at Amazon.) My acquaintances are gradually upgrading their computer sound, and I am absolutely forbidding them to get any other speakers. I listened to them all during a loooong shopping period, and nothing in this world compares to these Yamahas.

I hope I've made it clear that I rather like these speakers . They have thoroughly distracted me for months now! I get far more pleasure out of my music collection, which covers a global variety of genres, than I did before. They make average music sound good, and good music sound extraordinary. Don't cut corners on your computer-speaker decision. These might cost twice as much as some other sets you're considering. But you will love them forever, and you'll love your music even more than you already do.

I purchased these speakers for computer use, but the sound quality, and depth coupled with power output led me to use them with portable cd/md players in my office. The sound is awesome!

Simply put, I was blown away by these speakers (and continue to be, of course). Not only do they actually produce the "brilliant highs" they're advertised to, but the YSTMS50's also provide enough bass to be felt three rooms away. However, they won't jar your fillings - the bass is round, smooth, and precise. The best word I can find to describe the experience of listening to these beauties is "immersion." You just feel surrounded in a swirling vortex of sound. It's great.

Now, I'd be willing to pay a lot more for this kind of quality, and I was prepared for a hassle setting them. However, they were blasting out tunes in about seven minutes from bringing the box in from my front step, and I couldn't be happier.

These Yamahas are THE choice not just for CDs, mp3's, games, DVD's, and all other computer uses, but they can be hooked up to anything with a simple 3.5mm audio plug. My Discman has never sounded better.

If I could give these speakers ten stars, I would, but we'll have to make do with five. They are perfect.

Got these because I occasionally wanted to listen to music without earphones at my desk and wanted something that would sound good when cranked up. I was not disapointed, the speakers sound very nice and the subwoofer (which is pretty large, but easily shoves away under the desk) really puts out a lot of base. (so much so that my neighbor complained and I had to turn the sub down a bit even though the music was relatively soft).

The earphone plug on the right speaker is very convenient, and the volume and power switches allow the volume to be adjusted or turned off. The speakers automatically mute when you plug your earphones in as well.

Probably my only negative comment would be that the connectors from the sub to the sattellites are somewhat odd, one is a standard RCA and the other is PS/2 style cable like you see on mice. I guess the advantage is that it's easier for people to plug in because they can't get the right and left speakers confused, but I would have preferred standard RCA or miniplugs on both so that I could possibly use other sattellites if these broke.

Overall these are great speakers....

I'm very pleased with this system:

Setup. It was easy, taking just a few minutes. All plug-ins were logical and snapped in crisply.

Sound. The bass is extraordinary. Besides being powerful, it's also very clean. This system does not have the vibrating, distortion-producing sound of many subwoofers--it is quite smooth. The highs are crisp. This Yamaha outperforms the Sony CMT-CP11 $300 stereo I just sold.

Features. Having a headphone jack up front is helpful. Separate volume knobs for the woofer and satellites is nice, and seems mandatory, but many lesser system don't separate them!

Price. Unless you need 4.1/5.1 sound for movies (or some live albums and classical music), this system is more than adequate for computer sound, even compared to systems that are twice as expensive.

Well done, Yamaha.