Yamaha ESB-1080 Review: Beauty with a Muscular Featureset

Yamaha’s new ESB-1080 packs a real punch

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Yamaha ESB-1080 Review
CollaborationVideo Conferencing Reviews

Published: October 3, 2019

Anwesha Roy

Technology Reporter

In the sound devices and endpoint segment, Yamaha needs no introduction. Since 1887, it has built a robust market presence focused on musical instruments, audio products, and semiconductors as well as music schools or any other offering related to sound.

Yamaha Unified Communications is a relatively newer entity, with approximately a decade of experience in its homegrown japan market, and a burgeoning footprint worldwide. The company combines enterprise-grade endpoint technology, spanning microphones, conference systems, and soundbars with a rich legacy of excellence in sound & music.

Its flagship products include a feature-rich collaboration kit and the ESB-1080 that we are reviewing today.

Inside Yamaha ESB-1080

The ESB-1080 isn’t a simple enterprise-grade speaker. It seamlessly integrates the audio from your video collaboration systems to make your meeting rooms feel truly immersive. With its signature Yamaha aesthetic, the ESB-1080 is easy on the eye and follows minimalist design principles. We can easily imagine the device placed in conference rooms of any size, or even in larger lobbies and townhalls.

Let’s now review the many features of the Yamaha ESB-1080.

  • Device drivers: The soundbar comes with three types of built-in drivers including two cone woofers, two subwoofers, and two dome tweeters. Together, they make meeting participants feel like they are present in a live conversation, without any of the typical jarring or lack of clarity
  • Power specs: All the drivers transmit a total of 120W in power. Depending on the country from where you’re reading this Yamaha ESB-1080 review, the power supply will vary between AC 110V to AC 230V. The device is pretty energy-efficient consuming only up to 1.2W in the standby mode
  • Size: The ESB-1080 is designed to go with a visual display and is approximately 35 inches in length. Fortunately, it comes with a complimentary mounting unit so you don’t have to go looking for one separately
  • Unboxing and accessories: Inside the box, you get a remote control, power cord, mounting template, user’s manual, and an optical digital audio cable – apart from the primary device. As an added bonus, we found that you can switch between conference and hotel mode when using the Yamaha ESB-1080
  • Connectivity: This soundbar comes with all the bells and whistles you can expect from any flagship endpoint device. There are HDMI, Digital TV, and Analog 3.5 ML input jacks, and HDMI as well as Analog for output. You can also use the USB port if necessary – and the ESB-1080 supports Bluetooth Class2 with a 33 ft range for maximum coverage
  • Compliance & warranty: Yamaha is targeting the US, the UK, Canada, and Europe markets with designated models for each region. As such, it’s compliant with every regulation in these countries across safety, EMC, radio, and environmental standards. At the time of writing this review, you could access a two-year warranty on the Yamaha ESB-1080

Why Yamaha ESB-1080 Makes a Difference

While it may look like a standard collaboration speaker on the surface, there is a lot more going on under the hood with the Yamaha ESB-1080. We particularly liked its elegant design, capable of blending into any professional space be it in hospitality or our office. Keeping this in mind, Yamaha has provided distinct “hotel” and “conference” modes out-of-the-box to make the switch easier.

There is a bass reflex port for unmatched sound quality, in addition to a built-in gyroscope. This component has a unique functionality – it allows perfect optimisation of the sound whether the device is mounted vertically on the wall, or lying flat on a table.

Yamaha ESB-1080 is device-agnostic with support across any monitor, mobile, or personal computer. Recently, the company has partnered with enterprise collaboration pioneer, Huddly. In August of this year, the two companies came together to create a new soundbar and collaboration kit which would take the ESB-1080’s superior sound and marry it with Huddly’s AI conference camera. Used together, the devices could take your meeting experiences to the next level, leveraging Huddly’s proprietary AI tools to optimise video and the gyroscope for the best possible sound quality.

What We Think

If you’re in the market for an enterprise-grade video-to-audio endpoint, the Yamaha ESB-1080 is the solution for you. It comes at an attractive price point (USD 249 at the time of writing this review) and can be sued as a standalone soundbar or in conjunction with the Huddly camera. It’s pretty light at only 7 pounds, and Yamaha’s proven expertise in managing audio across complex scenarios makes our choice a no-brainer.

 

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