Yamaha really wants to rock the entire house. When we first got word about MusicCast, the company was promising 20 different products before the end of the year. Yamaha just recently debuted the Slimline RX-S601 AV Receiver. Now, we’re getting a pair of speakers.
More specifically, we’re getting the MusicCast Soundbar (YSP-1600) and the MusicCast TV Speaker Base (SRT-1500). Each one of these new additions can work alone, with your TV, or with any other product in the MusicCast lineup.
Yamaha MusicCast is a WiFi-based wireless multiroom system that can put music into any part of your house. Each MusicCast device can work alone, with other MusicCast devices, and even with other devices that are connected to MusicCast devices. So you can actually have things like set-top boxes, Blu-ray players, and even turntables in the mix, as long as they are connected to something in the MusicCast lineup. (To learn more about MusicCast, check out “Yamaha Targets Sonos with MusicCast Audio Collection.”)
Besides being able to stream music from your favorite portables to each of these speakers, both the MusicCast Sound Bar and the MusicCast TV Speaker Base can pump up the sound of your TV. Each speaker has HDMI connectivity with 4K Ultra HD and HDCP 2.2 support, so you can pair one with a 4K TV. You can even connect one of these speakers to a media player or set-top box and have that sound play in other rooms with MusicCast devices.
Other features include built-in WiFi, Yamaha’s Digital Sound Projector technology, and Bluetooth. That Bluetooth is especially interesting, since both products support the technology as an input or an output. That basically means you can stream music to each speaker from your favorite portable or you can use the MusicCast Sound Bar and/or the MusicCast TV Speaker Base to deliver music to Bluetooth-capable speakers and headphones.
The MusicCast Sound Bar has eight speaker drivers, which promises 5.1-channel surround sound. The MusicCast TV Speaker Base ups that number to 10 speaker drivers, which are enclosed in a compact package that can squeeze under TVs ranging from 32 to 55 inches. Both speakers also have two built-in subwoofers, but you can add in an external unit via each product’s subwoofer output.
Yamaha is shipping the MusicCast Soundbar (YSP-1600) and the MusicCast TV Speaker Base (SRT-1500) now, priced at $499.95 and $599.95, respectively.
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