Yamaha MCX-A10 MusicCast client

The Yamaha MCX-A10 client device has one main purpose. Its mission is to wirelessly stream music from the company's MusicCast Server MCX-1000, a component that archives CDs to a built-in hard drive. One MCX-1000 can support up to seven MCX-A10 clients at a whopping AU$1,499 a pop. A built-in amplifier and optional matching speakers (MCX-SP10; AU$199) facilitate installing the MCX-A10 practically anywhere around the home. One huge caveat for the Napster generation: unlike many digital media receivers, the MCX-A10 can't stream music from the Internet or from the hard drives of networked PCs.

Design
Although the MCX-1000 server's beefy black metal casing and sleek faceplate give that component a distinctly high-end presence, the MCX-A10's physical design is more pedestrian. Featuring a square silver faceplate with a centre-mounted text display and a white plastic casing, the slender MCX-A10 can be perched on its included metal stand or hung from the wall with two nails. The optional MCX-SP10 speakers include matching stands but can also be wall mounted. Unfortunately, because the stand doesn't lock onto the MCX-A10, it easily becomes dislodged when handling the unit. Furthermore, MCX-SP10 speakers can't be attached to MCX-A10 to enhance portability. All jacks are stationed behind a removable panel located on the device's right side. The panel helps keep the emerging cables neat.

Unlike some digital media receivers, the MCX-A10 includes a full assortment of front-panel buttons. Menus are logically organised on the MCX-A10's easy to navigate, six-line text display. There's also a TV-based interface, but its stark white text and flat blue background are harsh and uninviting (Windows' blue screen of death comes to mind). Most of the time, you'll want to stick with the device's front-panel display, which is readable from up to about two metres. Because Gracenote's CD Database is employed to display CD information, such as track titles, it's surprising that neither the MCX-A10 nor the MCX-1000 displays CD artwork on its TV-based interface.

We were also a little disappointed that while the MCX-A10's tiny remote has the requisite four-way keypad, it lacks the useful Artists, Albums, Genres, Page-up, and Page-down shortcut buttons deployed on the MCX-1000's higher-end remote. We hoped to circumvent this limitation by using the MCX-1000's remote to operate the MCX-A10, but it didn't work.

Features
The MCX-A10 has a respectable complement of jacks. Two sets of wire spring clips enable connecting your own speakers or the optional MCX-SP10 set. Yamaha says the built-in amp outputs 17 watts per channel, continuously. The unit has a stereo analog line output to enable playback through a stereo system. It also includes a 1/8-inch auxiliary input to allow connecting an auxiliary source device, such as an iPod. A composite-video output facilitates connection with a TV, while a subwoofer output allows connecting the MCX-A10 to a powered subwoofer.

Unlike some digital media receivers, the MCX-A10 doesn't have a digital audio output. The MCX-A10 has built-in 802.11b networking, but an Ethernet port also allows you to use the unit on a wired network. It's exceptionally easy to get going with the MCX-A10, because very little user input is required to make the device wirelessly communicate with the MCX-1000 server.

Because the MCX-A10 streams audio exclusively from the MCX-1000, the two devices support exactly the same file formats. The MCX-A10 is capable of playing any MP3 or noncompressed PCM file located on the MCX-1000's hard drive. Files can be added to the MCX-1000's hard drive either by ripping CDs or by recording into the MCX-1000's inputs in real time. The MCX-1000 can encode MP3 files at three bit rates: 160Kbps, 256Kbps, and 320Kbps. It's worth noting that only MP3 files can be streamed when multiple MCX-A10 clients are in use.

Performance
We tested the MCX-A10 with the optional MCX-SP10 speakers and with old Boston Acoustics A-70s, midsize two-way speakers. We tested both setups with and without an NHT Pro S-00 powered subwoofer in the mix. The MCX-A10 drove the A-70s very loud without noticeably straining. Yamaha's MCX-SP10 speakers were also capable of playing surprisingly loudly. When we fired up Macy Gray's track, "Relating to a Psychopath," the MCX-SP10s' sound was a bit boxy and didn't have much depth. Because the speakers are only AU$199, they're still worth picking up if you want to install the MCX-A10 in the garage, kitchen, or anywhere else you probably wouldn't have a set of more serious speakers at hand. It almost goes without saying that adding the sub improved the overall performance with both sets of speakers.

The MCX-A10 does suffer from occasional wireless playback dropouts, but that's not a strike against it because all wireless digital media receivers have the same problem. In our setup, the MCX-A10 was about 35 feet away from the MCX-1000, and the two were separated by a couple of walls. Your wireless mileage may vary depending on a variety of factors, ranging from atmospheric conditions to the construction materials used in your house.

In the final analysis, the MCX-A10 is a solid digital media receiver that effectively plays second fiddle to the MCX-1000 audio server. It's priced a few hundred dollars too high in comparison to roughly comparable digital media receivers. But that's a moot point for MCX-1000 owners since only the MCX-A10 client can be used with that device.