Yamaha is making streaming easier for installers with the release of two new multiroom streaming MusicCast amplifiers.
In Australia custom installers are experiencing demand for a new generation of streaming content as organisations like Foxtel and Spotify move to expand their streaming options for households.
The new XDA-QS5400RK provides four zones of audio streaming and eight channels of amplification in a slim, 1U-high, rack-mountable enclosure. Expandable and extremely flexible, the QS (Quad Streamer) works with the MusicCast multi-room audio system over Ethernet and with local phono connections, allowing it to be linked with home theatre AV receivers, sound bars and hi-fi systems in a wide variety of configurations.
The QS amplifier streams four zones of audio, expandable to 32 zones (with additional QS units) offering simultaneous playback in linked groups of up to 20 zones. Each offers eight channels of pristine ultra-efficient ICEpower amplification at 50 watts/channel (8 ohms), bridgeable and 4-ohm capable, featuring a unique ground loop/hum-free circuit design.
The QS supports high-res audio playback up to 192 kHz/24-bit and employs the same ESS Sabre DACs and PML capacitors used in Yamaha’s highly-rated Aventage AV receivers.
In addition, the QS offers four zone preout channels that enable it to be combined with the XDA-AMP5400RK, a companion 4-zone, eight-channel amplifier with matching bridgeable power capabilities, to provide more power or wider speaker coverage for large areas in a home.
Multiroom control is via the MusicCast app which offers various personalisation features, including the ability to assign custom images to rooms, and to rename, rearrange and hide sources, as well as network access to playlists on smartphones, tablets, local storage and through streaming services via built-in Pandora, Spotify Connect, TIDAL, Deezer and Napster. The QS also supports IP control by control systems such as Control 4, Elan and RTI.
In addition to supporting external sources through MusicCast receivers and sound bars, the QS offers an Aux input that can be selected for playback in any zone and a Cut-In input that automatically senses an input signal and temporarily overrides the selected source. This offers the flexibility to integrate media players, CD changers or paging systems. Thru-Outs allow the setup of a bus to additional QS units while the integration of doorbell chimes and gate alerts is possible via chime contact closure inputs. Output zones and chime sound selection can be configured using a Web UI.
Yamaha claims the integrated QS amp design and matching power unit boosts the potential and performance of Yamaha’s multi-room audio platform.
