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Yamaha's YSTMS50 (2.1) on sale @ buy.com

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Yamaha's YSTMS50 (2.1) on sale @ buy.com

Postby Asrale on Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:04 am

YSTMS50 in black (clearance) | YSTMS50 in white

This is Yamaha's high-end 80W 2.1 speaker system (40W to sub, 20W to each sat). In BLACK, taken down to $49.99 from the $149 SRP, plus a $25 rebate. For a limited time, it may have already expired by the time you read this...

The second link is the standard item not on clearance, without the special price of $49.99. Still a good deal though @ $69.99, use the same rebate on that and it becomes $44.99.

Got this set back in February from NewEgg for $91. Excellent sound quality. Can't match Klipsch's PM 2.1 or Altec's 621, but it's better than everything else in the 2.1 category. Believe me I've heard them all, I did to do my research. There shall be no excuse for anyone to have sub-par computer speakers! :P
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Postby UALOneKPlus on Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:32 am

Seems like a great deal.

However, I did find this info:

http://www.bensbargains.net/ktalk/10621 ... 079,.shtml

Check out FW... They've been rejecting numerous of the MS50 rebates due to: quot;sku on receipt does not match SKU on packing slip" quot;invalid UPC code for rebate offer" quot;missing packing slip" ome people are getting Buy.com to cover it others are told to resubmit with new faxed packing slips/etc.. Just be aware these rebates go to Arizona which seems to invalidate numerous rebates for no reason then wont answer email or resubmissions after rejection.
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Postby UALOneKPlus on Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:39 am

More info from FatWallet.com:

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/message ... did=214720

Hopefully if you decide to take advantage of this deal, the rebate snafu's have been fixed.

I'm glad I've got my Altec Lansing ATP3's, which are really sweet 8)

received mine today. Great looking. Actually smaller than I expected. I put it near my bed for playing CDs at night (the headphone jacket make this sweet), and my ATP3 remains under my desk for playing MP3 in my computer. MS50 has heavier bass and better differentiation for high and low frequencies than ATP3. I love both of them, though. Which one is better? It all depends in my mind . I tested MP3 and CD on both of them. Actually MP3 sounds better on ATP3, because of the "mixing" or "blurring" for different frequency ranges, whether you think it's good or not. While MP3 on this baby sounds not as nature or "soft" as in ATP3, because the defects in MP3 are exaggerated and clearly differentiated. On the other end, the high quality CD sounds rich or "strong" in this baby while blend in ATP3.

Btw, ATP3 has a Tremble knob, which I love; but don't have the the headphone jacket on the sattelite.

Thanks for the great deal, OP


http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/message ... did=210571
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Postby cfitz on Sat Nov 29, 2003 3:29 pm

This deal may be even better now. Buy.com has dropped the sale price to $61.49, making the final price $36.49 after the $25 rebate. This applies to both the black and white versions. Although this is certainly better than the previous $44.99 for the white version, it appears at first glance to be worse than the previous $24.99 for the black version.

However, if I recall correctly neither the black nor white versions qualified for free shippng when Asrale first posted this deal, meaning that the delivered price was at least $20.24 higher than the listed prices. But now the black version qualifies for free shipping, so you can get it for $36.49 delivered. Why does free shipping only apply to the black version? Who knows? Maybe white paint is heavier than black??? :-? :wink:

Here is a summary of the as-delivered total cost after rebate, including shipping (but not taxes for those who live in California):

Code: Select all
Date            Color     Total cost after MIR
----------------------------------------------
11/17           Black         $ 45.23
11/17           White         $ 65.23

11/29 (today)   Black     >>  $ 36.49  <<
11/29 (today)   White         $ 56.73

Act soon. Quantities are said to be limited, and the rebate is only good for purchases between 10/05 and 11/30. Does that include 11/30 (tomorrow)? I don't know. Of course, Buy.com has offered these speakers for even less in the past, so if you are a gambling type maybe you want to wait and see what December brings...

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Postby UALOneKPlus on Sat Nov 29, 2003 3:41 pm

Thanks cfitz. Have you personally compared these to the ATP3? I have the ATP3, and am conflicting about buying these Yamaha speakers. I want to hear from an authority such as yourself whether it's worth the hassle to "upgrade" to the Yamaha, or stick with my ATP3.
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Postby cfitz on Sat Nov 29, 2003 6:28 pm

UALOneKPlus wrote:Thanks cfitz. Have you personally compared these to the ATP3? I have the ATP3, and am conflicting about buying these Yamaha speakers. I want to hear from an authority such as yourself whether it's worth the hassle to "upgrade" to the Yamaha, or stick with my ATP3.

Sorry, but no I have not. And I don't consider myself an authority on audiophile matters. I do enjoy music, and I can tell the really cheap from the really nice when it comes to audio equipment, but I don't have the finely tuned "golden ears" of a real audiophile enthusiast. In fact, I jokingly say I have "leaden ears". :wink: The only thing I can tell you is that many others have given these speakers very positive reviews, including our very own Asrale.

One point that might affect your decision one way or the other is the bass response. These Yamahas are said to have a more accurate but less pronounced bass reponse than many other systems. From my point of view that is a good thing. I usually prefer my bass to be clean rather than loud and boomy. That's why my stereo has an old pair of Boston Acoustics A70 acoustic suspension (sealed) speakers rather than a pair of ported bass reflex speakers. They don't knock you over with bass, but what they do produce seems to be pretty accurate and not the one-note bass of many cheap, high-output ported speakers. I prefer this for music. Of course, it doesn't provide the same visceral impact of a high-efficiency ported design when fragging enemies in your favorite first-person shoot-em-up or watching a car explode on your favorite DVD.

Now, these Yamaha speakers do have a ported subwoofer, and owners report that they can put out some good loud bass. But according to the comments, Yamaha has apparently tuned this system in favor of more accurate bass at the expense of some loss in overall bass volume. Given Yamaha's background in production of musical instruments, this might not be too surprising.

Make your decision accordingly. Of course it would be best if you could audition a set yourself and compare it directly to the ATP3, but that may not be possible for you in the available timeframe. Maybe dodecahedron can advise you, since I think these and the ATP3 were on his list of speakers he was looking at a while back, and I believe he ended up buying the ATP3 (although that was at least partly due to the expense of the Yamahas in Israel). I am considering the Yamahas because my computer only has a set of no-name, single driver, $5 throw-away stereo speakers with no subwoofer at all. They are obviously no match for the Yamahas, and to paraphrase Asrale, at $36 I have no excuse not replace my current electric kazoos. :wink:

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Postby Asrale on Sun Nov 30, 2003 3:04 am

UALOneKPlus, as I implied above, I demoed the ATP3 before I bought the Yamaha set. As many have said, the ATP3 is indeed a very good set for the money, with strong bass and great sound quality. That set too rivals some home stereo systems.

I personally got the Yamahas for reasons other than sound quality, however (though the sound quality didn't hurt). I wanted a headphone jack on a satellite, visible volume indication (considered Altec's 621 until I saw it had a lame "digital" volume controller), ample wattage with room for high volume (read: over 50 watts), and an auxiliary input (since I listen to a lot of FM radio). The speaker wires are proprietary, and only 6' long, but that shouldn't be a problem on most computer desks.

You could upgrade if you want, but in my opinion, I think you might be best served by the ATP3. Granted the Yamahas have a LOT more room for volume, and have a great, warm musical and flat response, but you'd be upgrading from one 2.1 set to another 2.1 set.

As for the aforementioned bass, it's true. I was initially disappointed by the lack of punch, compared to my previous 2.1 set, the Cambridge SoundWorks Digital, which exaggerated bass. The subwoofer's spin dial has 10 ticks, and mine is set to halfway between 6 and 7, which gives bass floor-shaking punch only at very loud volumes (the kind where someone in the next room can hear the music, through 2 closed doors). At tick 10 on moderate volume, the bass becomes strong enough to be felt through the floor, but that's not to my personal liking, and not considerate to my roommate either... :P
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Postby UALOneKPlus on Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:59 pm

Thanks for the info! I think I'll stick with my ATP3's. The Yamaha's sound really good for someone who currently have cheap speakers.
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Postby cfitz on Sun Nov 30, 2003 11:06 pm

I think that's a good decision. Asrale has advised you well. :)

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Postby cfitz on Tue Dec 23, 2003 1:31 pm

cfitz wrote:Of course, Buy.com has offered these speakers for even less in the past, so if you are a gambling type maybe you want to wait and see what December brings...

The deal is back, and December brings an even better price. Again, skip the white ones that are listed for $3 more than the black ones and cost $20 to ship, and instead go for the black ones that list for $67 - $35 MIR + free shipping = $32 final cost.

http://www.buy.com/retail/clearance/pro ... 35&loc=101

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Postby rmdir on Wed Dec 24, 2003 11:02 am

Do you have a link for the white ones, if I selected the right ones, listed as being on order, there is not any free shipping.
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Postby cfitz on Wed Dec 24, 2003 12:51 pm

Here are the white ones:

http://www.buy.com/retail/clearance/pro ... 60&loc=101

Unfortunately, now neither the black or white ones come with free shipping, which is what really makes this deal great. When I posted the alert, the black ones were in stock, but the white ones were not. I guess that once the in-stock supply of black ones sold out, Buy.com removed the free shipping deal. They also bumped the price up $3 to match the price of the white ones.

Sorry you didn't catch it in time. It is still a pretty good deal at $55 shipped (see pricegrabber.com, pricewatch.com, etc.), so you might want to go for it anyway (being careful of rebate deadlines since they aren't in stock anymore). Or you might want to wait and see what January brings. A variant of this deal has surfaced a number of times on Buy.com, and might well yet again.

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Postby rmdir on Tue Jan 20, 2004 5:18 pm

Hey, they are back

http://www.buy.com/retail/clearance/pro ... 2&product=

If the rebate coupon is still good, does anyone have a copy of it?
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