Yamaha MusicCast

MusicCast is Yamaha’s streaming and multiroom platform, and is used across such a large selection of its products that we’ll have to take a deep breath just to list the categories — there are standalone MusicCast products such as wireless speakers (three, including a true stereo pair which remains our favourite multiroom product ever), five varying levels of soundbar with subwoofer, and its highly successful range of AV receivers (14 are MusicCast-equipped at the last count, but that’s about to increase). There are three little MusicCast lifestyle amplifiers, three hi-fi stereo amplifiers, two compact music systems, and a pair of MusicCast-equipped amplifiers designed specifically for custom-installed multi-room audio. Not forgetting the wireless multiroom turntable introduced a couple of years ago to great acclaim and a Sound+Image Award. Oh, and a grand piano — specifically the Disklavier ENSPIRE, which doesn’t even require you to be very good at piano, because it can play itself and send the sound through MusicCast to all your other MusicCast systems. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Sonos.

So we think it fair to pronounce MusicCast to be the most comprehensively-served wireless multiroom platform in terms of kit that supports it, short of third-party platforms like Chromecast or AirPlay. Mind you, MusicCast supports AirPlay 2 as well, so it can join that party with any other AirPlay 2 products, and also supports voice control via either Google Assistant, Alexa or, via AirPlay 2, Apple’s Siri. All this also explains