Yamaha TSX-80 Desktop Audio - Dulcet Tones

Understated, Pastel Beauty

Do not underestimate the importance of starting your day off right. Most people hate the harsh, buzzing sound of their alarm clocks. The hostility and anger generated at the incessant beeping that shakes you out of slumber can easily be carried forward through your entire day. Yamaha is looking to rectify this problem with their new lineup of iPod speaker docks which have built-in alarm clock functionality. There are multiple models and the TSX-80 represents one of Yamaha's most compact offerings for the masses.

Design and Features

With the TSX-80, Yamaha has decided to go for an old school design. The unit seems to be a cross between the radios of yore and oscilloscopes normally found in laboratories. A mixture of knobs and buttons greets you as soon as you set eyes on the unit. The good thing is that the slightly curved pastel color front panel projects a soft friendly vibe. This easily offsets the 'techie' but functional knobs/buttons and makes the entire setup look fairly harmonious. Seems like Yamaha has decided to do away with garish colors, which are so in vogue with speaker manufacturers these days. Instead, Yamaha is offering a selection of three classy pastels (dark purple, ivory and light blue).

With respect to hardware, the TSX-80 is packs dual 40mm full range drivers in the front, while a 55mm woofer within helps out with the low end of the audio spectrum. The woofer is a passive radiator and leverages on Yamaha’s Swing Radiator Bass technology where the vibrations from the main diaphragm are also used to provide input. All of this is rolled up into a rectangular form factor that measures in at a very compact 260mm by 90.3mm by 141mm (L x H x D).

As mentioned earlier, this docking speaker is meant to double-up as a soothing alarm clock by using desired audio tracks. IntelliAlarm, a feature built-in with the TSX-80  to assist on the alarm clock functionality, lets you select the audio track that  you wish to wake up to. Notably, it starts off by removing the high frequencies from the audio spectrum (according to Yamaha) and then gradually restores the full range of sound. We'll relate our experience of this on the following performance page. For further ease of use and setup, the TSX-80 also has a remote control.

We noted some drawbacks though and the first is the fact that the dock does not have an option to run off batteries and hence needs to be plugged in to a power outlet at all times. A few other downsides with the TSX-80 is that it doesn't have an option to interface with other products due to the lack of a USB port and 3.5mm line-in audio jack. This is strictly an iPod speaker dock.

In addition to the alarm clock, the Yamaha TSX-80 also provides the user with access to FM radio. You can also store the five radio stations you tune in to most frequently as presets thus eliminating the pesky need to scan through all the frequencies.

From the list of features and the design, it is obvious that the Yamaha TSX-80 is intended for your bedside table or work desk rather than a prime position in your living room.

Testing Material 

While different users may have certain preferences for particular sonic palates, we try to remain as neutral and balanced as possible when reviewing audio devices. With that in mind, our test materials span across a diverse range of audio variety.

For the Yamaha TSX-80, we had to tweak our regular test bed slightly. Since the speakers only allow playback from iPods and iPhones, we used an Apple iPod Classic (160GB) and had to remove our usual Gaming and DVD Testing sections restricting ourselves to just tracks compiled from our CD and MP3 Testing suite.

CD Audio Track Testing:
 

• Pod Race Scene from Phantom Menace
• Tyrannosaurus Rex Sound Effects from Jurassic Park
• Theme from Jurassic Park
• Apollo 13 Lift-off Sound Effects
• Theme from Cutthroat Island
• Fanfare for Louis, performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony

MP3 Audio Track Testing:
 

• Hotel California - Eagles
• Sail on Soothsayer - Buckethead
• Melt My Heart to Stone - Adele
• Elements of Life - Tiesto

Clarity in Music

As with all audio products, we tested the Yamaha TSX-80 thoroughly. However, before assessing the speaker’s qualities and flaws, it is important to remember what function a product was intended for by the manufacturers. The TSX-80 is not meant to replace your desktop speakers, nor your sound system. It is an ultra compact desktop iPod speaker meant to provide quality audio for a more personal listening experience at a close distance and we will be taking this into account when handing out performance scores.

MP3 Audio Track Testing

MP3 Testing is a good place to start due to the popularity of the format. Since most personal libraries will definitely comprise a wide selection of songs and music, we tried to go through a diverse playlist. Yamaha has always had a reputation for delivering pristine sound quality and the 40mm drivers in the TSX-80 generally lives up to the high standards for a compact speaker system.

The high and mid-range audio spectrum from the TSX-80 are clear and bright. On Adele’s Melt My Heart to Stone, the sound is warm and the unit performs great. The different components of the track such as the singer’s voice, the reverb laden guitars and the melody are all rendered with fidelity. Slow, smooth, jazz tracks seem to be this speaker’s forte and this complements its intended bedside or work desk usage perfectly. Hotel California by The Eagles also highlighted the positive aspects of the Yamaha TSX-80. The speaker’s capabilities rendered the guitar interplay well and also painted a good atmosphere for the live track.

However, the speakers are not without their limitations. Seeing that the woofer is situated on the bottom of the device, the bass tended to sound boxy especially on Tiesto’s trance number Elements of Life. Similarly the distortion seemed loose and undefined when listening to Sail on Soothsayer by Buckethead. This is not to suggest that bass performance was poor throughout, but when tackling bass intensive audio tracks, the TSX-80 was unable to impress.

CD Audio Track Testing

While the dock cannot play video materials, we did have have some CD quality tracks from different movies that we loaded in the iPod. A film soundtrack presents its own challenges and we tested the TSX-80 out to see how it would handle this task.

Sound from stringed instruments is especially difficult to recreate due to the fact they possess their own unique timbre and tone. These qualities were preserved by the speakers when testing them out with tracks such as Fanfare for Louis and Theme for Cutthroat Island. The flowing melodies of both were also beautifully rendered.

But the Sound Effects from Apollo 13 exposed the same shortcomings we encountered during MP3 testing. The TSX-80 was unable to shine and the bass sounded undefined and ragged. The T-Rex sound effects only provided more proof as the roar of the dinosaur was nowhere near imposing enough to impress.

Redeeming itself when playing the Pod Racing Scene from The Phantom Menace, the TSX-80 captured the tense mood of the sequence well. It also has a sufficiently wide soundscape to do justice to the pods as they zoomed across.

Overall, we felt that while the TSX-80 doesn't bode well to provide for movie audio tracks due to its small size and design properties. On the flip side, it does justice to more orchestral based soundtracks, something we've come to expect from Yamaha.

Time to Wake Up

We can attest from personal experience that waking up early is possibly one of the hardest things people have to do on a daily basis. The Yamaha TSX-80 boasts IntelliAlarm technology to make the process a little more palatable. As mentioned, according to Yamaha, this feature strips your selected audio alarm track of its harsh higher frequencies and starts it off at a low volume and then slowly brings it up to its full potential.

From our trials, this seems to have been applied well and is definitely a more pleasant way of rising out of bed. Although the feature is not revolutionary and has been around for a while, its implementation is slick and smooth in the TSX-80. However, in all honesty, when waking up you will not be able to distinguish the fact that the treble on the alarm track has been reduced for your comfort. During actual application we found that the IntelliAlarm was pretty much indistinguishable from a generic volume swell.

In Our Opinion ...

As always, it is essential to view the intended purpose of the device. We mentioned previously that the Yamaha TSX-80 belongs beside your bed rather than paired with your primary audio playback device. This is evidenced by the fact that it is a pure speaker dock and does not interface with other devices via USB or 3.5mm line-in. The following is our audio test score for the Yamaha TSX-80 based on the detailed breakdown on the earlier page.

Keeping its function in mind, the twin 40mm full range drivers and 55mm woofer performed reasonably well for their intended audience. When tested with mellow tracks, they provided a soothing and calming listening experience. The speakers are perfect for orchestral tracks and light jazz as it lets the TSX-80's clear sound and tine shine through. The clarity also lends itself to other functions and we found that the TSX-80 was able to impress when tasked with handling audiobook playback as well.

Bass is the TSX-80's primary weakness as the downward facing woofer design makes the low-end audio spectrum sound cramped and boxy. We found that the speakers performed worst when asked to deal with tracks that had heavy bass or complicated bass rhythms. Considering its designed capabilities, we could easily overlook this drawback, but not at its expensive asking price of S$429. While most bedside-class docking speakers are relatively inexpensive, you won't get sound quality like that produced on the Yamaha TSX-80, especially at its size. Packing dual full-range drivers and a woofer for low frequencies, it's an interesting but expensive proposition for just a bedside companion.

Generally, the Yamaha TSX-80 seems to be a well executed product for its core function. The design and color options benefit from being understated and will fit in with any modern décor. With the provision of an alarm clock and FM radio, it has the necessities that you would  expect from a bedside speaker set. But the product is directed at a very niche market given its price, lack of other connectivity options and not being battery operable. Since there is no on-board battery, the docking speakers are not portable even though this speaker dock's overall size is quite small.

While audio performance is generally good, unfortunately, it doesn't have any other special features that would wow the user. Furthermore, the IntelliAlarm feature does not sound any more special than the usual step-up volume control found on most alarm clocks and the FM radio functionality can also be found with other devices. Price-wise, while this product is expensive, it's not really over-the-top if we were to compare solutions from the more established brands such as Boston Acoustics, Bose and others. However differences can be subjective as the size and capabilities differ, while Yamaha's TSX-80 is definitely the most compact of the lot and sounds reasonably good.

If your night-time listening experience is important to you, and you need a compact solution to double up as an alarm clock and radio, then we suggest you definitely test drive the Yamaha TSX-80. However, it is no miracle speaker and it has limitations on what it can deliver from its form factor. Now if only it was going for half its asking price, that would have made it really attractive.

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