Reviews for Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: VERY good value Nice bass and clean highs

Weakness: Not the most attractive in my opinion

After deciding to get outdoor speakers for my deck I went around locally to listen.. The one problem I knew I would face was the lack of bass on all outdoor speakers due to the lack of walls to bounce bass off. The only way to generate more sound is to move more air so I started listening to the larger speakers. While I did find some that I thought were slightly less colored than the Yamaha's the price point was 140% more. Since the deck is not going to be a critical listening area I decided on the Yamaha's. In the last week I have used them 3 times with a few different sources and they have not disappointed. As long as they hold up to the weather I'm a happy camper.

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Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: Well made. Attractive. Sounds great.

This is a real nice outdoor speaker for the money. I did
buy two outdoor light covers at Lowes, for about 2.79 apiece
to mount them to. But this made the mounting job easy, and they were playing music in about a half an hour. Also it was nice that the logo rotated 360 degrees since I mounted mine vertically. Highly recommended.

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Great all around - very happy

Strengths: Excellent sound (far better than I expected from outdoor speakers), good bass, great price

Weakness: Brackets only pivot one way, not a huge deal but would like "down and to the center" but these allow one or the other. Grilles seem to scratch easily so be gentle with the faces.

Exceeded my expectations for sound quality, and I'm very picky. Very good bass considering they are outside.

Speakers were bigger than I expected but nothing crazy, just keep in mind they stick out about 8" or so once on the brackets, a tad more if you tilt them.

As I mentioned, the mounting brackets (depending which way you mount them) allow either vertical or horizontal tilt, not both. However it includes hardware to mount these onto one of those 3-direction flood light boxes you can get at home depot, so if you do that you could set it permanently one direction and have adjustable in the other direction. Or just shim the brackets to angle it if you want.

Hardware included was great, tabletop stands, brackets with adjustable 1-way tilt, threaded rods and nuts for mounting onto flood light boxes, and even safety cables and brackets to secure to a second surface in case you mess up the mounting and they fall off :-)

Mounted vertically, about 8-10 feet apart and tilted down some gives me good coverage height wise (sitting and standing) but bright spots on either side (sitting in the middle 4 feet or so sounds fine). At some point I might try to get them aimed toward the middle a bit more using methods above, but its really not that bad. Might want to use the table stands to try out your placement and see what works, most likely mounting them toward the outside of the listening area, aimed toward the middle will give the broadest stereo coverage. That being said, I'm sure any other patio speaker would be the same (or worse) imaging, since these are designed to have a wide pattern.

Of course, they're freakin patio speakers, if you're sitting to the side and hearing a bit brighter out of one speaker, the beer in your hand, steak on the grill, and conversation with other guests will more than make up for it. I'm not trying to pretend the symphony is in my backyard or anything, they've already proven to be a great addition and have been running for many hours. And people seem to show up and hang out back there more than usual. Why do they never bring beers?

Final note, binding posts are very hard to get to once they are on the brackets, and most likely if they're off the brackets you're holding them in one hand with nothing to set them on while hooking up the speaker wires, and since the grilles are sensitive you don't want to fumble with them. Get some banana plugs (radio shack has good non-gold ones for $2 a pair or something, gold ones are like $15 for 2 pair at the major electronics retailers, but I couldn't see wasting gold plated on outdoor stuff). Getting the banana plugs into the binding posts after they are mounted is easy, its just screwing bare wires in is nearly impossible. I also filled the posts (before putting the plugs in) with di-electric grease (stuff you use on spark plug boots, buy at any auto store) to prevent corrosion and repel water.

Final Final note - these are 6 ohm speakers, while you probably won't have any issue driving them with an 8 ohm receiver at reasonable volumes, if you crank it up you can overheat your receiver and/or kick in the protection mechanism, or possibly damage the speakers due to all the extra distortion and noise on an over-driven amplifier. Mine is 4ohm stable so not concerned, but there are a lot of 8ohm receivers out there.

They are worth every penny paid at a local retail store ($150 plus tax), so for $90 shipped with no tax, I'm obviously very happy w/ them.

OK this review got very long, but considering the 80lb dog is asleep on me and I have no option of moving, I need something to pass the time.

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Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: 1) Strong full range sound 2) Great value : less than half the price of any other outdoor speaker with comparable sound quality

Weakness: 1) Not supplied with covers for the speaker wire terminals

I am an audio enthusiast who definitely appreciates accurate sound reproduction across the entire spectrum. These Yamaha NSAW350 speakers deliver good clear highs, extremely powerful low end bass and they can handle every bit of power that my Yamaha RXV1000 can deliver. I spent many hours auditioning the available outdoor speakers for my deck and the only other set that I even considered was a pair of NHT Outdoor Ones at four times the price that I paid for the Yamahas. I personally prefer the NHT's somewhat brighter high end, but I definitely have no regrets in choosing the Yamahas. They are one of the best values out there.

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Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: The Speakers are Weather Resistent.

Weakness: The Product doesn't come with all mounting hardware.

I had to go to Home Depot to purchase two brackets that will actually mount the speakers to a surface. They are fine if all you want to do is put them on a bookshelf. But then, why buy outdoor speakers?

THe parts cost me $5.00. Well worth it.

THe other cool thing is the little Yamaha sign in the front of the speaker actually rotates 360.

Very high quality sound!!!!

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Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: Good Price

Weakness: None

I Installed the speakers on my padio outside, and they are about 20ft apart. The only thing i would do is mount the speakers sideway so you can point them to the middle. I can only hear one speaker based on the location. The mounting bracket only pivits up and down. Other than that based on the prices i looked at for Bose Speakers, for outside you cant go wrong with these at all.

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Good sound, great price

Strengths: Sound quality, design

Weakness: Doesn't include screws, etc. Mounting hardware only permits one way of movement

The quality of sound on these are great for the money. The retailer I got them from (Panwebi) shipped quick and were TREMENDOUSLY cheaper than other stores around.

These speakers have a decent low end - even though the woofers aren't super huge.

They are heavy, make sure you have a good support for mounting.

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yamaha NS-AW350W

Strengths: Great sound, versatile mounting brackets, sleek look

Weakness: not very lound, input sensativity not very high, binding posts not very protected from the weather

Overall this is a great set of outdoor speakers for the price. The major shortcoming of the speakers is the low input sensitivity (you have to turn up your reciever volume high to get much sound out of the speakers) They mount easily and look quite good. They are heavy and appear wellbuilt.

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Yamaha NS-AW350W Indoor/Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: Sound good, lightweight, easy to install

Weakness: A little weak on bass, large casing

My speakers are mounted outdoors on a pool deck/patio area. They sound very good considering the price range, overall good value. No issues noted to date. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good mid-range outdoor speaker.

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Great sound for good price

Strengths: All in all these speakers sound great outside. Also pretty easy to install.

Weakness: Only problem I had was trying to screw the speaker to the bracket while on a ladder.

I defintly think these speakers sound great. They were reasonably easy to install and the price was great. I just put them up yesterday, so I don't know how they will handle weather, but they seem pretty tight, so I am expecting good things. If they hold up well, I would definitly buy these again.

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good sound and reliable- mine our now 7 years old

Strengths: great sound, good value

Weakness: the grill cover might eventually come off and sometimes hard to get it to stay back on

I actually was looking for another pair of these to add to my outdoor sound. My current pair is not approx 7 years old and running strong and clear. Been exposed to So California weather so not too wet but they have held up well for that. only gripe is that the front grill cover is a compression fit with some sticky stuff to keep it in place and after a few years, the grill might pop off and maybe be a bit tricky to get it to stay completely in. i eventually solved it by putting some more stickish tape stuff in the recess where the grill edges fit. but i think i also bent the grill edge a little so probably added to my personal problem. but very minor thing in the big picture. i just like stuff that lasts and this certainly has.

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Nice Speakers

Strengths: Great Sound Quality, Very Powerful

Weakness: Mounting could be a little more versatile

I did quite a bit of research before selecting these and I was glad I did. Overall a great product for the money. First thing you notice is that these are some big speakers. Overall larger and heavier than typical outdoor speakers. The mount only swivels longways so if you want ot angle it both ways you need to do some shimming or other creative means. This was not a big problem for me but that was my only complaint. Once I got them up I quickly noted that when I switch my receiver from indoor to outdoor I have to turn the volume down because these things are so loud. Being a guy I wanted to see what they could do so I kept turning up the volume to see where they would start distorting. I had my 3/4 acre backyard rocking, and they still sounded crystal clear. I've had them up for a month now and have been enjoying great tunes by the pool every weekend. Now I wonder why I waited so long to buy them!! For my needs, these yamaha's are great, and for the money, you can't beat them. If you care about sound quality, don't waste your time with those cheap brands, spend the few extra dollars and get these beauties.

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Yamaha NS-AW350 Outdoor Speakers

Strengths: Affordable and well made.

Weakness: Bass response seems a little weak.

These speakers are a great deal for $89 and Yamaha is a name brand you can trust. They seem to be lacking in bass response but can be compensated thru loudness and bass settings on your receiver. Overall, a good deal for the money!

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