Yamaha ATS-1090 Soundbar Review

The Yamaha ATS-1090 has a similar design to the Yamaha YAS-108/ATS-1080. It's a simple entry-level soundbar wrapped in fabric. There are two ports, one on each side, for the integrated subwoofers.

The subwoofers are integrated into the bar itself.

This soundbar isn't very wide, though it doesn't quite fit between the legs of most 65" TV stands. It isn't too tall, either, so it doesn't block your TV screen unless your TV sits flush on your table.

You can mount this soundbar to the wall. You'll have to buy the brackets separately, but it comes with a mounting template to help the setup process.

The bar has a fair build quality. It's mostly made of plastic, and there's fabric wrapped around the sides of the bar. However, the materials don't feel very premium. Overall, it has a similar feel to the Yamaha YAS-108/ATS-1080.

• Manuals
• Remote
• Power cable (4.9 ft / 1.5 m)
• Optical cable
• Mounting template
• Soft pads for wall-mounting

The Yamaha ATS-1090's stereo frequency response is fair. It has a dark and bass-heavy sound due to the extra emphasis in the high-bass. The bass leaks into the mids a bit, pushing voices and other instruments towards the back of the mix. Smaller details are somewhat lost as a result. You can always turn on the Clear Voice feature to make voices louder in the mix, though it doesn't do much else to improve the sound quality.

Additionally, the bar struggles to reproduce the deep thump and rumble in the low-bass, even though it has two integrated subwoofers. You notice it most in action scenes and bass-heavy music genres like EDM. If you want more low-bass, you can always add on a dedicated sub.

This soundbar doesn't have bass and treble adjustments, but you can adjust the subwoofer volume to switch up its sound a bit. If you want a slope that's closer to zero, representing a more neutral sound, we recommend setting the subwoofer volume to -4. However, the low-frequency extension suffers as a result, so you notice less bass in the mix.

The stereo soundstage is middling. Sound stretches just a little bit past the edges of the bar itself, but it doesn't have any tricks to make it seem wider than that. The focus isn't very good, either. Since there are two tweeters on each side of the bar, sound effects seem as if they're playing from both sides rather than a localized position in the soundstage.

The bar gets loud enough to fill an average-sized living room with sound. As you push it to max volume, there isn't a lot of compression. However, the bar struggles to fill larger, more open spaces with sound.

Distortion falls within good limits when you listen at an average listening volume. As with most soundbars, there's more distortion preset when you push it to max volume, but it's hard to hear with real-life content.

This 2.2 setup doesn't have a discrete center channel. Instead, it uses its left and right channels to simulate a "phantom" center. This sounds more diffused and less clear than a discrete center. Voices are a bit muddied by leakage in the high-bass, though, which can make them harder to hear.

The Yamaha ATS-1090 doesn't have the most impressive surround sound performance, which is expected for a 2.2 bar. Since it lacks discrete surrounds, it has to downmix 5.1 content into stereo to play it back. The resulting sound is much less clear and real than with other setups. Plus, it lacks a lot of bass, so you don't feel the rumble in action-heavy scenes.

The Yamaha ATS-1090 is a simple entry-level bar without a ton of sound enhancement tools. You can adjust the subwoofer volume or use its Clear Voice feature to enhance dialogue in the mix. There's also a 3D surround feature to enhance the soundstage, though it doesn't sound very natural in practice.

You can connect the bar to your TV via HDMI or Optical. You can also add on a separate subwoofer using its Subwoofer Out port. The USB port is only for updates, so you can't use it for audio playback.

Via ARC, this soundbar supports Dolby Digital and DTS content. While it can decode these 5.1 surround sound formats, it has to downmix them into 2.2 to play them back. You can't playback lossless or object-based formats like Dolby Atmos, though it can also play 2.0 PCM.

This bar can playback Dolby Digital and DTS formats over its HDMI In port. Also, it can decode 5.1 PCM uncompressed sound, though it'll also downmix to 2.2 for playback.

The bar supports both Dolby Digital and DTS content via Optical. Dolby Digital is more commonly found on streaming services, while you're more likely to find DTS content as a fallback for higher-quality formats on various Blu-rays.

The bar has good latency. It's on the lower end, especially over Optical and Full HDMI In, so the audio you hear is in sync with the video on the screen. Some apps and TVs compensate for latency differently, though. You may notice some delay over ARC, too.

The Yamaha ATS-1090 has a Full HDMI In port, so you can use it as a hub between devices like a PC and a TV. It only supports some common resolutions and refresh rates, but it can also passthrough 4k content @ 120Hz and HDR10 content, which is impressive for a bar at this price. It can't passthrough variable refresh rate technologies, which is disappointing for gamers seeking a lag-free experience.

Compared to the Yamaha YAS-108/ATS-1080, this bar adds Wi-Fi connectivity. You can also connect via Bluetooth. We experienced some issues with Wi-Fi playback during our testing; it took a while to connect, and the sound cut in and out. The bar performed better when closer to a router, so it seems to have a middling wireless range. Let us know if you experience similar issues with this soundbar.

While there's no display, there are lights on top of the bar that show you various settings as you adjust them, like the current sound, the sound mode, and whether the bar is connected to Wi-Fi.

The buttons on top of the bar let you control its basic features. You can power it on/off, adjust the volume, change the input, mute the microphone, and activate Alexa.

The remote is simple and lets you control the bar's various settings. If you prefer, you can download the Yamaha Sound Bar Controller app on your mobile devices instead, but it doesn't offer any additional features.

The Yamaha ATS-1090 has built-in Alexa support, unlike the Yamaha YAS-108/ATS-1080. You can mute the microphone for more private moments, too.