Wi-fi audio system are on the rise. With the rising recognition of good audio system, just like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, and tons of great-sounding wi-fi audio system just like the Sonos One, the way forward for dwelling audio is clearly wi-fi.
Yamaha might not be the primary firm you consider whenever you consider wi-fi audio, however the firm is proving that it has one thing so as to add by the introduction of its Yamaha MusicCast ecosystem.
The newest entries into the listing of MusicCast-enabled gadgets embody the Yamaha MusicCast 20 (reviewed right here) and extra highly effective MusicCast 50.
At over $230 (£199, AU$349) the MusicCast 20 audio system aren’t essentially low cost – particularly when you think about the truth that they’re not as good because the likes of the Echo or Sonos One – so are they nonetheless value investing in?
We put the Yamaha MusicCast 20 to the take a look at to search out out.
Design and setup
Like different wi-fi audio system, the Yamaha MusicCast 20 is designed to suit neatly on a bookshelf, however it’ll take a look at dwelling just about anyplace in a modern-looking dwelling.
The speaker is just a little bigger than the Sonos One, however not overly so, and it nonetheless incorporates a glossy and trendy design that received’t stick out an excessive amount of.
Just about your entire face of the speaker is a straightforward speaker grill, whereas on the again you’ll get an influence enter and a screw gap to mount the speaker on a wall, when you so select. On the highest is the place you’ll discover all of the controls – and there are fairly just a few of them: You’ll get energy controls, quantity controls, playback controls, and even an alarm button to set an alarm on the speaker. There are additionally three numbered buttons to assign favourite inputs, which is a useful function for people who need to have the ability to juggle totally different inputs for the speaker.
Organising the machine is definitely very straightforward. You’ll want the Yamaha MusicCast app to take action, however all you actually need to do is observe just a few on-screen directions.
As soon as it’s arrange, you actually don’t need to work together with the app in any respect, when you don’t wish to. That’s as a result of the speaker helps AirPlay and Bluetooth, so you possibly can pay attention by your favourite apps. From the app, you can too arrange a stereo pair, which once more, was very straightforward to do by heading to the settings within the app and hitting the “MusicCast Encompass/Stereo” button.
Basically, the Yamaha MusicCast 20 speaker appears fairly good. It is a bit bulkier than another choices, however nonetheless very manageable. It’s additionally straightforward to arrange, and whereas we didn’t actually use the MusicCast app a lot after setting the machine up, typically the app is fairly well-designed.
Options
In contrast to a number of the different good audio system on the market, you received’t get a voice assistant on the Yamaha MusicCast 20, which might be the most important omission. That mentioned, the audio system work with Alexa – so you possibly can ask one other Alexa machine to play music on the speaker – however that’s wildly totally different from having Alexa or Google Assistant constructed proper in.
One of many large promoting factors for these explicit audio system is that they work with some new Yamaha receivers for encompass sound. You may solely use them with receivers because the rear encompass audio system, nonetheless, and never the principle ones. So, you possibly can’t, for instance, purchase 5 MusicCast audio system and use them for a 5.1-channel encompass sound system.
Whereas they are a bit restricted, we really fairly favored utilizing the audio system in a encompass system – they sounded fairly good as encompass audio system, and whereas it took us a minute to correctly set them up contemplating you need to change the settings in each the app and on the receiver, as soon as we did we discovered that they labored very properly.
It was equally pleasant utilizing the audio system as a stereo pair. We’ll get into precise sound high quality just a little later, however as with every wi-fi audio system, utilizing a stereo pair can severely heighten the listening expertise.
The principle approach wherein we used these audio system was by AirPlay, they usually work with AirPlay very properly. Sadly, they don’t provide Apple’s new AirPlay 2 commonplace – so that you received’t have the ability to use a number of AirPlay gadgets natively on an iOS machine.
Fortunately, as soon as audio system are paired or arrange in a encompass system by the Yamaha app, nonetheless, they do all play your music.
Efficiency
Whereas design and options are vital sufficient, in the long run it is a speaker so sound high quality is maybe an important factor to contemplate.
Fortunately, the Yamaha MusicCast 20 sounds fairly good.
Let’s begin with the bass, which we discovered to be typically punchy and thick. There appears to be fairly a lift within the increased lows, serving to ship an actual kick in issues like kick drums, and a clean bass guitar tone. The bass extension doesn’t appear to increase as little as we might have favored, which in the end leads to a barely much less full tone in comparison with another choices, however all besides the most important mega-bass followers ought to nonetheless be completely pleased with what’s on provide right here. We discovered that regardless of being smaller, nonetheless, the Sonos One presents just a little extra within the low frequencies.
The mid vary is decently well-tuned, however it’s actually tuned. The low mids are decently heat, whereas the excessive mids are current sufficient for many conditions. We discovered that there appeared to be a slight minimize to the excessive mids, giving issues like vocals and guitars a barely laid-back tone.
The excessive finish is maybe the weakest frequency vary on the Yamaha MusicCast 20, however it nonetheless doesn’t sound all that unhealthy. Like within the low-end, there merely isn’t as a lot extension as we’d have favored. Nonetheless, the majority of the highs are comparatively well-represented. Cymbals typically get loads of physique, whereas vocal sibilance helps the vocal minimize by the combination just a little extra.
In the end, we just like the sound of the Yamaha MusicCast 20. It sounds just a little extra pure than another good audio system, even supposing it doesn’t lengthen fairly as low or excessive as we might have favored.
Closing verdict
On the lookout for a great-sounding good speaker that works wirelessly and has a ton of options? Go for the Sonos One. The Yamaha MusicCast 20 has so much going for it, however for many it simply doesn’t compete with the competitors.
That mentioned, there are just a few conditions wherein it is likely to be a more sensible choice. In the event you’re trying to construct a encompass system and like the concept of utilizing wi-fi encompass audio system, then the Yamaha MusicCast 20 audio system are an awesome possibility. We additionally advocate this speaker to people who don’t thoughts the dearth of digital assistant and who need a barely extra pure tone.
In the end, the Yamaha MusicCast 20 has a superb sound-quality, good design, and performs properly with different Yamaha gadgets. It’s an awesome speaker … however in a world with increasingly wi-fi speaker choices, it’s not one of the simplest ways to go.