Yamaha New MusicCast
Japanese sound Company Yamaha, has taken their MusicCast networked audio system to a new level with a new receiver that delivers surround sound wirelessly to a new generation of rear speakers, also built in is voice control via Alexa speakers.
Their latest product offering, that makes Sonos look old hat, consists of a choice of one of three new 4K AV receivers—the 5.1-channel, RX-V485 and 7.2-channel RX-V585 and RXV685—two new speakers, the MusicCast 20 and MusicCast 50, and a new MusicCast SUB 100 subwoofers.
All of these products have the new MusicCast Surround wireless technology built in what appears to be a new benchmark for Hi Fi in Australia.
Capable of delivering high res audio Yamaha is the first Hi Fi manufacturer to deliver integrated technology that allow users to get sound to the back of a room for surround sound speakers without having unsightly exposed cables.
The new offering is a major step up for their MusicCast wireless multi-room audio system which has been around as long as the 16bit Sonos networked audio system.
Now users can build an AV receiver-based 5.1-channel surround sound system with wired speakers for the front channels (Front Left, Centre, Front Right) and wireless speakers for the surrounds, Left, and Right speakers.
It also supports the option of using a wireless subwoofer.
Those who have listened to the sound output claim that it rivals the sound quality of a wired system.
The RX-V 85 series AV receivers are also capable of supporting wired surround speakers for those who prefer a traditional setup or a speaker configuration with more than 5.1-channels.
How it works is that when the MusicCast Surround mode is employed, a direct Wi-Fi connection is made between an RX-V 85 series AV receiver and the MusicCast 20 or MusicCast 50 wireless speakers so that the surround audio streams do not have to pass through the user’s home router.
All of the new models come fully-loaded with wireless technologies, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect. They support numerous built-in streaming services, including Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet Radio, TIDAL, Deezer, Napster and thousands of free internet radio stations, all accessible via the free MusicCast app.
They also all feature voice control via Amazon Alexa-equipped devices, such as the Echo and Echo Dot smart speakers.
In addition, all three receivers deliver lifelike images to connected TVs with up to 4K resolution at 60 frames per second.
The receivers also pass through high dynamic range (HDR) video in the HDR 10, Dolby Vision and Hybrid Log-Gamma formats with BT.2020 wide colour gamut (WCG) compatibility, delivering a wider, more realistic palette of colours, greater brightness and contrast, and details previously not visible in the darkest and lightest portions of a scene. The RX-V685 offers dual HDMI outputs for rooms incorporating both a flat-screen TV and a video projector.
All three models support HD Audio decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio sound tracks, while the RX-V585 and RXV685 also support object-based Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding, which adds height effects through overhead speaker channels.
All feature Yamaha-exclusive sound technologies, such as YPAO autocalibration and Cinema DSP, which transforms the dynamics of the listening environment to recreate the acoustic experience of being in a movie theatre or even famous music venues like the Bottom Line, Roxy Theatre or European cathedrals.
MusicCast Speakers: The compact MusicCast 20 and high performance MusicCast 50 wireless speakers stand out for their versatility. Both can be used as standalone audio systems, or with existing MusicCast components for multiroom audio linking or used as wireless surround speakers with MusicCast Surround enabled AV receivers.
Two MusicCast 20 speakers can be paired in stereo mode. A single Music Cast 50 delivers stereo sound by itself, while using two
MusicCast 50 speakers yields even higher output and a wider sound field.