Conventional synthetic aperture ultrasound imaging requires wide angular response of the probe which presumes the use of a narrow transducer element. As a result the signal-to-noise ratio and the contrast resolution become poor. The problem can be overcome by using a multielement subarray and making the beam narrower. This study shows that the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved by > 15 dB compared to the conventional synthetic aperture approach and still preserve excellent spatial resolution. Assuming equal driving voltage, the performance is only about 6 dB worse than with a phased array system at its transmit and receive focus. This difference can be easily compensated if equal transmission power is employed.