• Welcome to The Audio Annex! If you have any trouble logging in or signing up, please contact 'admin - at - theaudioannex.com'. Enjoy!
  • HTTPS (secure web browser connection) has been enabled - just add "https://" to the start of the URL in your address bar, e.g. "https://theaudioannex.com/forum/"
  • Congratulations! If you're seeing this notice, it means you're connected to the new server. Go ahead and post as usual, enjoy!
  • I've just upgraded the forum software to Xenforo 2.0. Please let me know if you have any problems with it. I'm still working on installing styles... coming soon.

Yamaha's MusicCast system

Botch

Botch

MetaBotch Doggy Dogg Mellencamp
Superstar
Just read about this in the latest S&V a couple weeks ago, then saw it outlined in a new Crutchfield catalog. Apparently all 2015-model Yamaha AVR's have this built-in, and can send audio via wifi to up to nine other components around your house, including table-top speakers, soundbars, and stereo monitor-style speakers, and works similarly to the Sonos system. They either kept this kind've quiet or I haven't been paying attention. The S&V article mentioned that, along with Sonos, there are other systems being built-in by other companies:
Denon: HEOS
Bose: Soundtouch
LG: MusicFlow
NAD: Bluesound
...and others coming out (none compatible with each other, of course).
Having the same music playing in the living room, kitchen, and even workshop may be kinda neat; I can't see broadcasting to a different soundbar, unless folks typically watch "the last of the movie" from bed. :think: Cool that it's built-in, however, and runs on either Android or iOS.

Crutchfield's link: http://www.crutchfield.com/MusicCast
S&V's link: http://www.soundandvision.com/content/sonos-its-sights-yamaha-launches-musiccast#7iHkWPEKuomhVCHz.97 (note: their website doesn't yet have the CX-A5100 prepro review posted that I just read, but this article explains it a bit).
 
Thanks for the links Botch. I have a Sonos Amp that I got from my work's award program in my home office. I really REALLY like it. Enough that I planned on adding several more (patio/pool, kitchen, master bathroom) but the Sonos stuff is expensive.

From what I can tell Yamaha is missing a simple way to add Musicast to an existing system. It looks like you have to use a Musicast AVR or one of their Musicast enabled wifi speakers. But ... What if I don't want to replace my AVR and I want to use my existing speakers? Sonos has the Connect which you connect to your existing system like any other source component. They also have the AMP which as the name implies has a built-in amplifier and connects to any pair of speakers. This is perfect for spaces where you don't need/want an AVR and have a pair of speakers already, like the patio or maybe an office.
 
Yeah, a standalone system would be a good thing for most of us who already have a system that we're happy with.
 
Bluetooth is great for single room systems but for multi-room playback it can't work. Also, I use my phone A LOT so when I'm using it as a BT transmitter for music I have to hear every email/text/calendar alert my phone generates on the speaker (which is annoying). It also drops the music when I take a call.

Another factor is the reliance on the phone having a constant BT connection with the receiver. Since the Musicast or similar systems create a connection to a streaming service you don't need a constant BT connection. That said, if you are playing music stored on your phone you do have to maintain a wifi connection but that range is usually much, much larger. So you can take your phone/tablet to another room and still maintain music playback.

I really like the idea of a true multiroom system with the ability to play different tunes in each space or grouping rooms and having the music be in perfect sync with the ability to control volume in each space independently or globally.
 
It just arrived, thanks Amazon! Took about 10 minutes to setup. I used my Tab S, not phone. Turned off all sounds, like chirps for mail, bells for messages. Still get that on my phone. Listening to Sirius now, all other streaming services work. Sounds no different than with the SB. Granted limited distance. Not an impact for me. My main listening is Living room and porch. For that I use zone 2 with the speakers out there. Going to keep the SB on receiver for easy access to my full library. Will use a simple 2 port switch 1 in 2 out RCA connections. Another $10 for a total of $38 to solve this.
 
I've played with and set up a few Sonos systems and also really like them. I especially like the way the system handles the components by letting you group them or treat them individually. This type of flexibility is nice as you can "rearrange" the system depending on the current use. For example, if you're having a gathering, you may want all of the components playing the same thing. However, you may have a situation where one person is listening outside while another is listening in the living room. That can be done very easily and quickly. As T7 mentioned though, it can be pricey. However, my experience has also been that they just work. No fuss. No muss.

John
 
My biggest gripe with Sonos is that the indexing function seems to use factors beyond artist and album name when building its displayable list. Some albums get broken up into multiple entries on the 'Artist' list, making it more difficult to find individual tracks. A good example is Santana's album, "Supernatural." After ripping the CD and indexing, the Sonos album display has multiple entries instead of one like it should, such as "Santana Feat. Rob Thomas," with one track and "Santana Feat.Product G&B" with one track. This may be an issue with ripping my CDs, but then again, this problem only occurs on a very few albums. Sonos knowledge base is no help. Does anybody know how to properly edit the ripped album details on the .wav/.mp3 binary files? I could potentially find these oddball names and null them out somehow, hoping that the index function would then disregard them and group the tracks/albums/artist properly.
 
I have the same problem with every music library system I've used. Artist X gets split into different if the track features another atlrtist. The only way I've found around it is to edit the artist info and delete the featured artist.
 
I'd suggest MediaMonkey, and I'm sure there are others.
 
scubabob said:
How? What software do you use to alter those fields?
Click to expand...
I use iTunes for all of my ripping and the problem described above happens way too often.

After inserting the CD and having iTunes display its metadata, but before ripping, just right click on the songs to edit, choose "Get Info" then the "Details" tab.

In addition to the changes Towen7 suggested making, it's important to also uncheck the "Album is a compilation of songs by various artists" box, or it gets tucked into the "Compilations" rather than artist's folder.

When I was playing around with ripping using Windows Media I think I could do something equivalent to what I do in iTunes.

Jeff
 
With regard to multi-room systems I love the ability to play podcasts and still move around the house and hear everything. It's pretty rare that I just sit in one spot and listen for more than 10 minutes or so. There's always just too much that needs doing. So prior to setting up Sonos I was only able to listen to podcasts while driving to work or mowing the lawn. Now I listen a lot more.
 
More Sonos pimping ...

Yesterday I bought a pair of Sonos Play 1s. It's the smallest Sonos speaker they make and I only got them because I happened to find them on sale for $50 off the normal price. Anyway ... I set one up in my master bedroom and I'm simply blown away by how good it sounds. I expected to yawn and instantly want to move it to a lesser used space but it'll be staying on my dresser. I'm not sure what I'll do with the other one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top