Yamaha work with Radio Parts to access the Custom Install (CI) market and smaller resellers as well as exhibiting with Radio Parts at the major trade shows including Integrate, which this year will be held at the Melbourne Convention Centre (Jeff’s Shed) and CEDIA this month in the Gold Coast. All of this insider knowledge means that we know stuff… interesting stuff.
THE NEWS
Yamaha dominates the AV receiver market, so we were shocked to hear that they are moving to a 2-year product cycle. No new AVR models in 2019! Whaaaaaa?! What about Apple Airplay2?! What about Google Voice Assistant? What about HDMI 18Gbps?
THE (GOOD) NEWS
Their response was software updates! If the manufacturer has loads of redundant memory on their AV receivers for highly intensive applications like Google Voice Assistant, then all of these features can be added over the air! And yes, the Yamahas are loaded with memory, so expect some big updates!
So what are the big features in 2019?
AIRPLAY2
If you have an iPhone or iPad, then you’d need to use another application like MusicCast to manage your music in various rooms. Airplay2 will allow you to push music from your device to any room. Simple!
Google (or Alexa Voice) Assistant
Like Alexa with pro skills, Yamaha offers Google Voice Assistant users additional functionality. So you get the usual Google stuff (direct actions), like “Okay Google, turn up the volume in the living room” as well as the stuff that Yamaha develops, so “Okay Google, ask MusicCast to link the Kitchen with all rooms”.
MusicCast Surround:Ai
Yamaha offers clients dozens of sound formats. Movies with many sound effects are suited to the Sci-Fi DSP. Battles in the vastness of space need Spectacle. Conversations during movies were best with Drama. And I’ve only covered maybe 10% of the DSPs. Their new AI mode will select the appropriate DSP up to 5 times every second, meaning the action is always amazing and dialogue is clear.
Check out this link to learn more: https://hub.yamaha.com/what-is-surroundai/
RXA1080B – 7.2CH 110W AVENTAGE RECEIVER
RXA2080B – 9.2CH 140W AVENTAGE RECEIVER
RXA3080B – 9.2CH 150W AVENTAGE RECEIVER
Wireless Speakers
Every networked Yamaha amp now has 2 Wi-Fi antennas. So one antenna for internet stuff and one for beaming sound to wireless speakers in their home theatre. Most commonly, people use wireless rear speakers, like a couple of MusicCast 20 speakers or a single MusicCast 50 speaker at the rear, however the subwoofer can also be wireless.
MUSICCAST 20B, MUSICCAST 20W – MUSICCAST 20 SPEAKER
MUSICCAST 50B, MUSICCAST 50W – MUSICCAST 50 SPEAKER
Subwoofers are difficult to position and most people try to hide them away. The second Wi-Fi antenna in the Yamaha amps can beam a signal to the hidden subwoofer, so you can enjoy the action without having to explain to loved ones why a 10kg+ cube is sitting in front of them.
SUB100 – MUSICCAST 8″ 130W WI-FI SUB
Other Stuff
There are a bunch of seemingly insignificant additions that will really improve our everyday experiences. Here are the most exciting features:
eARC*
People who watch Netflix (or other content) on their TVs will receive an eARC update, so you can potentially experience the latest immersive audio formats like Dolby Atmos via your TV’s HDMI ARC connection. This might not be a feature that’s important today, but it’ll be a must have feature in the future.
* Support for specific models to be confirmed.
Streaming Audio
For the first time, free Spotify will work with MusicCast!
By Michael Swann