Audio Video News

Yamaha announced plans to ship an amp and preamp in August that will enable any brand of audio gear to become part of a MusicCast wireless streaming ecosystem.

The WXA-50 Wireless Streaming Amplifier ($500) and WXC-50 Wireless Streaming Preamplifier ($350) will make it possible to integrate a pair of favorite speakers or any brand AV receiver or amplifier, respectively, into a Wi-Fi-based MusicCast system that provides whole-house access to music libraries and streaming services such as Pandora, Spotify, and Rhapsody via Yamaha’s MusicCast app. The WXA-50 is rated to deliver 2 x 55 watts into 8 ohms and 2 x 70 watts into 6 ohms.

Both components are compatible with all types of music sources and streaming services, Internet radio stations, music files on smart devices and computers, Bluetooth sources, and external sources such as TVs and Blu-ray players, according to Yamaha, and support the playback of high-resolution audio files, including Apple Lossless (ALAC) files up to 96 kHz/24-bit; FLAC, AIFF, and WAV files up to 192 kHz/24-bit; and DSD streams up to 5.6 MHz.

Other common features include the use of the same ESS Technology digital-to-analog converter (DAC) used in high-end Yamaha AV receivers and proprietary sound processing technologies, including Yamaha’s Compressed Music Enhancer, Volume Adaptive EQ, and Advanced Bass Extension Processing. Both models are housed in a compact, solid metal chassis measuring 8.4 x 2 x 9.6 inches that can be placed horizontally or vertically or arranged side-by-side in a 19-inch component rack.

For more information, visit usa.yamaha.com.