YAMAHAAudio MusicCast 20 Wireless Speaker, Alexa Voice Control, Black

I heavily invested in Yamaha MusicCast not long after it was launched. I purchased the RX-V681 receiver, six wired speakers, two WX-010's and two WX-030's. I mostly listen to SiriusXM and music I've purchased. I emailed Yamaha a couple of times asking them to include Amazon Music as a source, because I have Prime. They always said "we're working on it." Well, last fall they made it available, but only for their latest equipment. So I spent over a thousand dollars on Yamaha products, and none of them got the firmware update that added Amazon Music. I seriously considered ditching everything and switching to a competitor's system after that. Instead, I finally decided to buy an Echo smart speaker. I have the two previous generation Echo Dots, but based on my experience with them I've never been a fan of Alexa. (My favorite thing about her is reading the 1 star reviews written by frustrated users, which is always good for a laugh.) Even though the speaker sounded good, I ended up returning it. Using a Kindle Fire with the smart speaker didn't work well, but the bigger problem is Amazon's music service, which constantly disconnects and has major issues with volume level. But as a classical music lover, it seemed like I was cheating myself by paying for Prime and not using the music service. Even though the selections on their stations aren't that great, a lot of albums stream with Prime, e.g. many of the Naxos recordings. So, even though it's substantially more expensive, I decided to purchase the WX-021. The unit is larger than I thought it would be, measuring about 6 by 7.5 inches. Sound quality is good, and there is a basic equalizer built into the app. Although I've had some issues in the past with music being interrupted, either Yamaha or Sirius (or both) seem to have worked out the problem. The speaker holds the most recently played Sirius channel in memory, so if you listen to the same channel a lot you can just use the power button to turn it on and off. This unit also allows you to save three favorites and access them by touching buttons on top of the speaker. The MusicCast app actually works really well when you need it, and the WX-021 includes Amazon Music as a source, even allowing you to search for recordings included with Prime. Unfortunately, none of my other MusicCast equipment has this capability, but it's possible to link the WX-021 to other units through the app. Another caveat is that even when using Amazon Music within the MusicCast app, the service still stops unexpectedly. I know this is an Amazon issue, because I sometimes listen to Sirius all day without stopping. The only other downside to MusicCast is that Sirus on demand is not included. The speaker has to be wirelessly connected to a phone or tablet running the Sirius app for that to work.

The build quality of this speaker is great, very nicely designed, the sound is just fine but isn't worth it if you don't want to use it as wireless surround speaker.Connection is relatively easy:1. Get musiccast controller app2. Add your receiver first3. Then add wireless speakers( I had issue connecting to virtual network it creates during the setup but it solved by restarting my phone and the speaker once)And that's it, just don't forget to turn surround speakers on in your receiver settings.Just 2 points:1. If you you want to use them as surround speakers they can not be used as separate stereo speakers. ( you need to release speakers from your receiver within the app and then set them up as a stereo pair)2. These speakers cant be used as zone 2 (basically zone 2 speakers must be wired)I'm happy with my purchase as there’s no alternative for wireless surround speakers as far as I know and I hate wires.

The Yamaha Music Cast system is fantastic! These small speakers sound great and are soooo easy to set up. I now have a few in various rooms and have whole-house wireless music without drilling and running wires through attics and under the home. Did I mention they are soooo easy to set up?No, these are not massive, large speakers that will fill a huge room with driving bass by using just one speaker. They are what they are -- excellent smaller speakers well under $500 that sound great and are perfect for a typical-sized room in a house. They are good looking, discrete, and are easily tucked away within room decor. I put two on opposite corners of rooms and the rooms sound wonderful. I added a subwoofer in the larger living room next to my entertainment center. It's like I now live inside a big speaker shaped like a house, and the music comes from everywhere when I walk from room to room. It is exactly what I wanted and am very pleased. I have always found Yamaha audio equipment to be top notch.I also found the Music Cast app so easy to install on my phone and use. Don't know why some other people have said it is difficult to use. They must work for the competition and are planting negative reviews. I can easily use the app to control the volume speaker-by-speaker, use EQ settings speaker-by-speaker, set up presets with all speakers and levels already set up and accessible by choosing the correct preset number, or I can use presets to have certain speakers off when I want to listen in only one room downstairs and not bother other people upstairs, I can turn on and off the AV receiver and all speakers with the press of one button, can access Pandora and Spotify (those are the ones I use) without turning on my Smart TV or Blu-ray, can skip songs, make playlists, give thumbs up and down to songs, etc., etc, all from the app on my phone.I also have had no problems at all with music cutting in and out like some people have commented. That must be due to them having a poor wifi signal problem. I have a Netgear Orbi wifi system with satellites in two places throughout my two-story home. My wifi signal is fine and the speakers have not cut in and out or lost signal at all. Ever. Not even once. Remember, if you start adding six or more speakers, plus a wireless AV receiver, and have your cell phone set on wifi to control the app and the speakers, you have just added eight or more devices onto your wifi system, in addition to all the other devices that were already using your wifi. So, make sure you have a good wifi signal and all will be fine.So far, I am VERY happy with these Yamaha speakers and their Music Cast system.