ok . I know that I can not blame Yamaha for the rest of the market be so expensive . I feel that this unit should be around $ 200 . but , have hear the review on the other $ 150 -- 200 soundbar , I decide instead to spend $ 300 for something that I would not be disappoint in , and I definitely be not disappoint . pro : 1 . low profile , fit easily under most tv 's without look like a afterthought 2 . hard-wired subwoofer fit on you rack -lrb- mean you do not have to deal with a wireless subwoofer randomly not work , plus look nice on the shelf instead of under a lamp -rrb- 3 . ease of setup -lrb- speaker wire , a beer , optical cable , turn on , adjust the center channel up for speech , turn on a movie in extended sound & enjoy -rrb- 4 . UniVolume keep all tv commercial & channel at the same volume ! 5 . much improve sound for both movie & music , without the hassle of wire string around the room con : 1 . for $ 300 , they really should throw in the optical cable -lrb- buy it online thru Amazon as well , they be ~ $ 15 at a box store if you do not -rrb- 2 . its $ 300 -lrb- but I be not go to spend $ 200 on something that be not go to sound much better than my tv or have other problem , so you get what you pay for here -rrb- . 04\/01\/2012 . bought 4-5 week ago . at first I keep turn off the Yamaha and listen instead through my tv speaker , not `` amaze '' at the difference , but after watch some movie , sport event and music in they respective sound mode , I would not want to go back to the dull & tinny tv speaker ! this be a huge improvement over my Samsung 's tv speaker . I have Google TV thru my Logitech Revue , and now streaming Pandora or Google Play with the soundbar in `` Music '' mode sound immensely better . I can crank up the volume , and its a good quality sound throughout the house , just fine for cleaning day or have some people over . Bass be nice , sound do not get easily distorted -lrb- do not listen to music in `` extended '' stereo though -rrb- . I be not a professional audiophile , however I have listen to music on $ 10 and $ 200 headphone , and know what the difference in sound be . I have upgrade the speaker in my vehicle , and have studio speaker in my main audio setup . be this a $ 2,000 speaker setup that will shake & rattle ? no. . but for the small living room that I have , it sound perfect . if you live in a apartment , condo or have a smaller living room , you do not need more than this . will not piss off you neighbor , but make movie , sport & music wholesome without any tech headache . I do not want to mess with a `` wireless '' subwoofer like other model have -lrb- just something else to break or randomly not work -rrb- , and have the woofer build into the `` rack '' receiver work great for my layout . watch a movie be lackluster before , but now with the `` extended '' movie mode , while its not true surround sound , add that audio depth to movie that be so important . it definitely fill up the room with richer sound , bigger boom & bang , and yet still audible speech -lrb- I take the advice of some other reviewer , be sure to turn the center channel up , the default setup be not quite right -rrb- . also , the fact that it have HDMI input , mean that it will be able to handle my next tv as well -lrb- see review on some of the other sound bar that do not have hdmus input -rrb- . also , some of the other soundbar do not handle the hd sound with some configuration , and I do not want to mess with that either -lrb- read the comment on some of the other brand -rrb- . for $ 300 , you get something that will not have trouble with hd sound , & have hdmus input for future tv 's , and you could move into you bedroom -lrb- or give to family -rrb- if you ever upgrade in the future . Wish it be not $ 300 , but very happy with the purchase . -lrb- PS , if you like the review , click `` YES '' that the review be helpful -rrb-