{"id":6866,"date":"2016-11-09T07:14:58","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T18:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/?p=6866"},"modified":"2016-12-16T09:46:45","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T20:46:45","slug":"yamaha-musiccast-wireless-music-system-revolutionizes-whole-home-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/yamaha-musiccast-wireless-music-system-revolutionizes-whole-home-streaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Yamaha MusicCast Wireless Music System Revolutionizes Whole Home Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can Yamaha dethrone Sonos at their own game?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the holy grails of audio is whole-house music.\u00a0 Traditionally, installing a high-quality whole-house audio system involved an expensive receiver or separates, multizone amplifiers, custom-installed cabling, and a home automation system to control everything.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, Sonos became a spouse\u2019s dream and turned the custom-installer industry on end with its expandable, wireless audio system.\u00a0 Using WiFi and a slick app you could stream audio to Sonos-branded speakers and even connect your Sonos streams to your HiFi system.\u00a0 Even though Sonos didn\u2019t provide custom integrators with their accustomed markup margins, the product\u2019s ease of use and functionality quickly forced integrators to make Sonos one of their go-to products for wireless whole-home audio. Consequently, Sonos now owns over 90% of the market share.\u00a0 If you\u2019re wondering about Bose, they own less than 4%.<\/p>\n

Over the years, several companies have tried to dethrone Sonos\u2019 unrivaled dominance without success.\u00a0 The reasons why they failed have been many. Suffice to say, no company to date has been able to match Sonos\u2019 incredible ease of use; seamless integration with streaming music services; ease of expandability; and decent sound quality.<\/p>\n

That may all change with Yamaha\u2019s announcement of their new MusicCast Wireless Music System.<\/p>\n

What is MusicCast?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yamaha invited me to an in-depth, hands-on sneak-peek of their MusicCast at their offices on 5th Avenue in New York on Friday, August 14th.\u00a0 All I can say is that I came away incredibly impressed.\u00a0 Let me explain why.<\/p>\n

MusicCast is Yamaha\u2019s new ecosystem that promises to bring music to every room in your home wirelessly.\u00a0 MusicCast has been designed to work on your existing home WiFi and Ethernet networks.\u00a0 The MusicCast system is controlled by a simple, yet elegant, App available for both iOS and Android platforms.\u00a0 From Yamaha\u2019s MusicCast App, you can play different music in any room, combine rooms, or have all rooms play the same source.<\/p>\n

\"image_preview\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I saw first-hand how easily MusicCast can accomplish this, but what really impressed me is how Yamaha pretty much acknowledged that yet another proprietary solution won\u2019t make a dent with the average consumer.\u00a0 Instead, Yamaha is entering a market where many potential customers already have existing Bluetooth or AirPlay speakers.\u00a0 Instead of eschewing that reality, Yamaha embraced it and made it a key part of the MusicCast platform.<\/p>\n

Out of the box, MusicCast is compatible with Bluetooth and AirPlay for peer-to-peer connections.\u00a0 You read it correctly.\u00a0 That means that unlike some competing solutions you aren\u2019t strictly tied to Yamaha-only solutions for your audio streaming.\u00a0 You can leverage your existing investments.<\/p>\n

For users who have made previous investments in Apple\u2019s AirPlay, you\u2019ll love the fact that all MusicCast devices are compatible with AirPlay.\u00a0 According to Yamaha AirPlay will even work from an Andriod device using their App.\u00a0 The limitation is that because AirPlay will be a peer-to-peer solution, AirPlay content cannot be linked to other rooms through the app.<\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Like AirPlay, MusicCast has been designed to support Bluetooth version 2.1 + EDR and aptX as a peer-to-peer solution; and, because MusicCast is Bluetooth compatible, it can also output a Bluetooth stream to wireless Bluetooth headphones.\u00a0 Imagine you\u2019re watching a movie or listening to music late at night and everyone in your house is heading to sleep.\u00a0 You could redirect that source to a pair of Bluetooth headphones and continue to listen without disturbing anyone else!<\/p>\n

Audiophiles and music lovers who are building high resolution music collections will be happy to learn that MusicCast supports wireless playback of hi-res music.\u00a0 MusicCast components are compatible with Apple Lossless (ALAC) up to 96 kHz \/ 24-bit, as well as FLAC, AIFF and WAV files up to 192 kHz \/ 24-bit. Most MusicCast models also support single-device playback of DSD streams up to 5.6 MHz.<\/p>\n

The MusicCast app allows you basic treble and bass control and also allows some enhanced options such as raising the dialogue level or enabling Pure Direct mode on a source.<\/p>\n

All of this functionality and power is available in the palm of your hand without the need for proprietary controllers .\u00a0 With MusicCast you get Sonos-like ease of use with a much broader and compatible set of products and sources.<\/p>\n

How Does MusicCast Work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Yamaha showed me the demo of MusicCast, playing content was incredibly easy to do.\u00a0 I mean MusicCast was ridiculously simple. You simply select a room from the App, select a source to play in that room, then choose your song and start playing.\u00a0 It really was that easy.<\/p>\n

As you would expect, you can provide custom names to any room and use beautiful stock images or colors to represent each room.\u00a0 Using your mobile device\u2019s built-in-camera, you could even take a picture of a room or family members in your home and use it right on the app.<\/p>\n

If you have different mobile devices running the MusicCast app, the rooms and settings will synchronize automatically.\u00a0 And, if you\u2019re using the stock images or colors those too will synchronize across devices.\u00a0 Custom installers rolling out MusicCast systems will find that custom images will require more time and effort, as they won\u2019t synchronize across devices.\u00a0 In such instances, you will need to manually apply a custom room image to every single device.\u00a0 Otherwise, the other apps will show a grey box where the custom image was used.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

Yamaha really made playing audio across different rooms a breeze.\u00a0 To link rooms together, simply press the \u201clink\u201d button in the upper left corner of the app, select the room that will serve as the master, and then select the rooms to link off the master room.\u00a0 Once you link rooms, you\u2019ll have the ability to set a master volume for the group or control the volume in each room independently.\u00a0 Assuming that all the linked devices are Yamaha MusicCast devices, pressing a single power button the linked rooms will automatically turn off the power to all the devices at once.<\/p>\n

With the app, you can also edit sources, hide sources and even rearrange the order in which they appear in the app.\u00a0 You have a tremendous amount of power and flexibility in an intuitive app.<\/p>\n

with MusicCast you get Sonos-like ease with a much broader and compatible set of products and sources.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking of sources, according to Yamaha, you\u2019ll also be able to access music you may already have on your music server.\u00a0 For Windows and Mac users that means access via DNLA.\u00a0 Macs do not natively support DNLA and will require DLNA server software to be installed.\u00a0 Again, all MusicCast devices support AirPlay so you could do individual streams from Macs to MusicCast products, but the MusicCast \u201cLink\u201d mode is not supported when an AirPlay source is used.\u00a0 This is Apple restriction, not a limitation by Yamaha\u2019s MusicCast.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably wondering about MusicCast\u2019s scalability.\u00a0 How much can you grow a MusicCast system?\u00a0 MusicCast can support up to 10 connected devices; but this number can get confusing so let me explain a bit.\u00a0 A MusicCast speaker, Bluetooth speaker, or MusicCast-compatible AV Receiver from Yamaha each count as a connected device.\u00a0 However, any and all sources connected to your MusicCast-compatible Yamaha AV receiver don’t count against your 10 device limit.\u00a0 Therefore, that limit of 10 connected devices isn\u2019t as confining as it may first seem.<\/p>\n

The 10 connected device limit has more to do with WiFi bandwidth.\u00a0 To get the most out of Yamaha\u2019s MusicCast, you need to have a solid WiFi network in your home.\u00a0 Any Bluetooth-connected devices are still subject to all the proximity limitations inherent in the Bluetooth protocol.<\/p>\n

Indeed, because the main control is via an app, WiFi connectivity is an absolute requirement. MusicCast does have the capability for adaptive streaming to handle some network congestion.\u00a0 In reality, you really want to have a minimum of 802.11n to make the most of the what MusicCast can offer.\u00a0 WiFi bandwidth will become an even more acute issue if you want to do hi-res music streaming and may cause some confusion so let me explain.\u00a0 If you have a hi-res music song streaming via MusicCast, you can stream that one song to three devices.\u00a0 However, if you want to stream multiple hi-res songs to different rooms, then what happens is that the primary room will retain a hi-res stream and the remaining rooms will have the audio down-sampled to an adaptive bitrate.<\/p>\n

A really cool use-case for MusicCast involves everyday interactions with friends.\u00a0 It\u2019s not uncommon for friends to want to share or stream audio content when hanging out.\u00a0 Usually, that\u2019s involved giving out your WiFi password to make that happen. Not any more.\u00a0 With MusicCast, you don\u2019t have to give out your private WiFi password.\u00a0 Friends or visitors can now connect their mobile device via Bluetooth and stream their content through your MusicCast setup.\u00a0 Simple and slick.<\/p>\n

One thing that struck me about Yamaha\u2019s App is how much it reminded me of some home automation systems.\u00a0 I asked Yamaha if there were any APIs or hooks for third party developers to extend the App or if it would tie into other basic home automation solutions like lighting or thermostat control.\u00a0 Yamaha does not have any plans for such expansion but they will soon have the necessary controls available for third party automation systems like Control4 and URC.<\/p>\n

What Content Can I Stream Through MusicCast?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A real strength of MusicCast lies in its variety of streaming sources.\u00a0 I love the way Yamaha approached this.\u00a0 MusicCast supports the standard streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify Connect, Rhapsody, SiriusXM, and free local and international radio stations on vTuner.\u00a0 Yamaha is working on adding additional services to their MusicCast ecosystem; but until that happens, you can stream pretty much any service or source from your mobile device by using Bluetooth.\u00a0 For example, if you subscribe to Apple Music or Tidal, you can stream those services from your mobile device via Bluetooth to any MusicCast speaker or room.<\/p>\n

Adding a Yamaha MusicCast-compatible AV receiver gives you an almost infinite option of music sources.\u00a0 You can stream any of the Yamaha\u2019s AVR inputs including CDs, Blu-rays, or even your vinyl album collection.<\/p>\n

What MusicCast Products Will be Available?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did I mention that Yamaha is intently committed to MusicCast?\u00a0 Yamaha is positioning MusicCast to take back a big chunk of the wireless music market currently dominated by Sonos.\u00a0 By the end of 2015, Yamaha is scheduled to offer over 20 MusicCast-enabled products. Those products include AV receivers, wireless speakers, sound bars, integrated amps and HiFi components, and powered monitor speakers.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

I had a chance to get a first-hand sneak peek of various components on hand.\u00a0 A few of the new products caught my eye.\u00a0 The first was Yamaha\u2019s forthcoming MusicCast powered speakers that look to go head to head with Sonos.\u00a0 My brief impression on the wireless, powered MusicCast speakers is that they have been geared towards easy mobility and flexibility within a home.\u00a0 They won\u2019t break the bank.\u00a0 The units are small and decor friendly and would easily fit into a kitchen or bedroom.<\/p>\n

Yamaha will introduce a MusicCast Sound Bar and a MusicCast TV Speaker\u00a0Base in September, both of which offer a single-body design for those seeking an easy\u00a0way to enhance their TV sound without having to connect multiple speakers. Both will \u00a0feature Yamaha’s exclusive Digital Sound Projector technology for true (vs. virtual)\u00a0surround sound and HDMI connectivity with 4K Ultra HD and HDCP 2.2 support for\u00a0compatibility with today\u2019s\u00a04K\/UHD TVs and sources.<\/p>\n

The MusicCast Sound Bar (YSP-1600) will sport eight speaker drivers plus dual built-in subwoofers in a slim,\u00a02.5\u201d-tall design suitable for placing in front of a TV. The MusicCast TV Speaker Base (SRT-1500) features 10 speaker drivers plus dual built-in subwoofers in a solid wood MDF enclosure that can be used as a base for most 32-inch to 55-inch TVs.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

As cool as these aforementioned models may sound, it\u2019s the MusicCast YSP-5600 Sound Bar that caught my eye.\u00a0 For me, the YSP-5600, will be a must for any space-challenged home theater lover to check out. The YSP-5600 is slated for December, release and will support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X in a 7.1.2 setup with 7 main channels, one sub, and two height channels using Digital Sound Projector technology to deliver multidimensional sound.<\/p>\n

If I got the details right in my notes, the YSP-5600 sound bar will accomplish this feat by using a steerable array of 46 drivers.\u00a0 Twelve of the drivers will be dedicated to height elements.\u00a0 The speaker array will come with an auto-calibration feature to instantly configure all the drivers for optimal performance within your room.\u00a0 While no subwoofer is included with the YSP-5600, you can add your own or add a wireless subwoofer kit for $150.<\/p>\n

with MusicCast you can have any source on any device in any room you want – wirelessly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yamaha\u2019s statement that they are committed to unleashing MusicCast across their product line is most powerfully symbolized in their forthcoming R-N601 integrated amplifier, which will fully support MusicCast.\u00a0 Listen, Yamaha is coming out and telling the die-hard two-channel audiophile, \u201cAre you into vinyl?\u00a0 No problem, we\u2019ll let you stream that too. We\u2019re giving you any source on any device in any room you want\u2014wirelessly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

It was the AVENTAGE CX-A5100 MusicCast-compatible AV preamp\/processor that really had me salivating.\u00a0 Slated for a September launch, the CX-A5100 will become available for those home theater enthusiasts who want an\u00a0\u201cAV separates\u201d solution for some serious home theater performance.<\/p>\n

\"image<\/a><\/p>\n

The new model will feature Dolby Atmos and DTS:X object-based multidimensional sound technology, the latest HDMI specs including HDCP 2.2, balanced multi-channel and subwoofer outputs and many other enhancements such as 64-bit processing for Yamaha\u2019s YPAO room calibration, in addition to MusicCast.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the complete lineup of MusicCast compatible Yamaha products that you\u2019ll see by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

Receivers<\/strong><\/p>\n

RX-V779<\/p>\n

RX-V679<\/p>\n

RX-V579<\/p>\n

RX-V479<\/p>\n

RX-S601 (slimline receiver)<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-A3050<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-A2050<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-A1050<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-A850<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-A750<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE RX-550<\/p>\n

AV Separates<\/p>\n

AVENTAGE CX-A5100<\/p>\n

Home-Theater-in-a-Box (HTiB)<\/p>\n

YHT-5920<\/p>\n

Speakers<\/p>\n

MusicCast Speaker (Black)<\/p>\n

MusicCast Speaker (White\/Silver)<\/p>\n

Sound Bars<\/p>\n

MusicCast Sound Bar (YSP-1600)<\/p>\n

MusicCast TV Speaker Base (SRT-1500)<\/p>\n

MusicCast Sound Bar (YSP-5600)<\/p>\n

Network Hi-Fi Receiver<\/p>\n

R-N602 .<\/p>\n

Powered Monitor Speakers<\/p>\n

NX-N500<\/p>\n

Are Existing Products Upgradable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many existing Yamaha AVR owners will want to know if their receivers or processors are able to support MusicCast.<\/p>\n

Starting on August 20th, owners of the recently launched RX-V 79 and AVENTAGE RX-A 50 Series of Yamaha network AV receivers will be able to perform a firmware update to enable MusicCast capabilities. Supported AV receiver models include the RX-V479,RX-V579, RX-V679, RX-V779, RX-A550, RX-A750, RX-A850, RX-A1050, RX-A2050 and RX-A3050. This represents every one of the latest Yamaha network AV receivers.<\/p>\n

Is MusicCast the Real Deal?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While I got some great insights into MusicCast, it obviously remains to be seen if it becomes a huge success or a massive flop.\u00a0 But one thing\u2019s for sure, Yamaha has thrown down the gauntlet and let the whole world know in no uncertain terms that they intend to take the wireless music world by storm.<\/p>\n

Four things made an impression on me that, if I\u2019m right, will give MusicCast the potential to be huge.\u00a0 First, Yamaha envisions MusicCast in pretty much every product.\u00a0 It\u2019s not an add-on. It\u2019s a default feature.\u00a0 You aren\u2019t taxed to get it.\u00a0 The ubiquity will give Yamaha the potential to attract new customers as well as provide them with an installed base that users can take advantage of MusicCast down the road as their needs grow.<\/p>\n

Second, the system is just beautifully designed and easy to use.\u00a0 Multi-room systems can get complicated quickly and I think Yamaha has done a remarkable job of bringing that complexity under control to the point where it\u2019s going to be a piece of cake for a non-technical spouse.<\/p>\n

Yamaha has thrown down the gauntlet and let the whole world know in no uncertain terms that they intend to take the wireless music world by storm.<\/p>\n

Third, MusicCast isn\u2019t envisioned as a closed system but will welcome established Bluetooth and AirPlay speakers and setups so that consumers won\u2019t feel as though they have to forklift their existing setup or can\u2019t take advantage of their current investments.\u00a0 While I personally dislike Bluetooth music streaming\u2019s peculiar quirks, I know that many have become by enamored by the convenience.<\/p>\n

Fourth, users can take advantage of high quality streaming without compromising high-end audio or high quality audio sources.\u00a0 I think some audiophiles have shied away from wireless streaming because it just hasn\u2019t lived up to their standards.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019ve personally admired some streaming solutions from afar, leaving the Yamaha\u2019s offices after the MusicCast demo was the first time I\u2019ve said to myself, \u201cThat\u2019s the solution I could really live with.\u201d\u00a0 MusicCast seems like a real winner.\u00a0 Getting our hands on some MusicCast-compatible products for review can\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n

Read more at: <\/strong>http:\/\/www.audioholics.com\/gadget-reviews\/yamaha-musiccast-wireless-music-system<\/a><\/p>\n

Home Audio Wireless Multi-room:<\/h1>\n

http:\/\/abtec.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Can Yamaha dethrone Sonos at their own game? One of the holy grails of audio is whole-house music.\u00a0 Traditionally, installing a high-quality whole-house audio system involved an expensive receiver or separates, multizone amplifiers, custom-installed cabling, and a home automation system to control everything. Several years ago, Sonos became a spouse\u2019s dream and turned the custom-installer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6866"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6964,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions\/6964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abtec.co.nz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}