AppleInsider Staff
The audio arm of Japanese conglomerate Yamaha on Monday announced upcoming integration with Apple's AirPlay 2, saying 14 products will support the streaming protocol as part of a software update later this month.
In a press release, Yamaha says a range of wireless speakers, AV receivers and a sound bar will gain AirPlay 2 compatibility with a firmware update due for release in late April.
The company's MusicCast 20 and MusicCast 50 wireless speakers, MusicCast BAR 400 sound bar, RX-A 80 Series AV receivers, RX-V 85 Series AV receivers, RX-S602 slimline AV receiver, ATS-4080 sound bar, TSR-7850 AV receiver, CX-A5200 AV preamp/processor and XDA-QS5400 MusicCast Multi-Room Streaming Amplifier are set to receive the upgrade. Yamaha's MusicCast VINYL 500 turntable will net AirPlay 2 capabilities in the second half of 2019, according to the release.
Yamaha on AirPlay 2 support:
Support for Apple AirPlay 2, adding the ability to stream Apple Music and other streaming services from your iPhone, iPad, HomePod and Mac to multiple Yamaha devices and other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers - simultaneously, perfectly in sync and throughout your home. And, with Siri on your iPhone, iPad, HomePod and AirPods, you can control what's playing in every part of your home with just your voice.
In addition to AirPlay 2, Yamaha's pending firmware update will bring Qobuz high-res streaming services and Spotify Connect for free accounts to the hardware listed above.
Yamaha also said an April 16 update to its MusicCast app will deliver Actions on Google support to all MusicCast models released since 2015. The new integration allows users to issue voice commands to MusicCast hardware via Google Home, Android or iOS devices.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
17 Comments
I’m happy to see more manufacturers getting on board. Hopefully this pushes Integra to give us an update for AirPlay 2.
Based on my experience with my last (and probably my last one ever) AV receiver (an HTR-5890)... I'd say avoid them, and Yamaha. It was a piece of junk, though not quite to the extent that the Kenwood prior to it was (but at least the Yamaha didn't spend most of its life in the repair shop... guess I should be grateful?).
Why would a turntable need Airplay support? Does it stream to connected speakers that do not support speakers?
Yes! Yamaha tends to be quiet about these updates and then surprises you with an announcement like this. The 1080 is a great receiver - works well with Apple TV, Dolby Vision, Atmos and now eArc and AirPlay2 (AirPlay currently works fine on its own, but with some latency issues when used with multiple devices). Built like a tank with great components - detailed & clean sound and uses new artificial intelligence to auto manage the multitude of audio formats out there. Unfortunately physics doesn’t allow them to make a high quality multi-channel amp that is compact - this thing weighs over 30lbs! Yamaha is a great brand - I own a fantastic Yamaha bass guitar and a 10yr old mixer - dependable and great sounding!