Yamaha WXAD10 Wireless Streaming Adapter

I purchased this to use with my iPad and iPhone as an AirPlay receiver. Set-up was straightforward using the MusicCast app - no issues at all. Once done you don’t need that app ever again, and given how clunky it is to use, that’s a good thing. Open any app on your IOS device and select the the AirPlay option, and it will simply appear as a potential output device, just like a set of AirPods for example. For apps that have a cast button, just select AirPlay. What this means is that the device can be used with everything you have installed on your device. So it WILL work with YouTube, YouTubeMusic, Amazon Music, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Apple Music, Spotify etc. You do NOT need any subscription to these services for it to work. Even apps that don’t have a cast option will work, although you have to make the switch first, in an app that does. So I tested a video editing app (LumaFusion) which was quite happy to play audio through the device. Sound quality is outstanding. I have a pair of mid-range near-field powered monitors, and I discovered a set of capabilities I didn’t know they had. Bass extended lower, was cleaner and tighter, and the overall sound was less muddled. In fact, what I really discovered is that I need to go out and pair a much better pair of speakers to take full advantage of Apple Master Quality (or Tidal/Deezer equivalents) music! Previously I had been using a Chromecast with an HDMI stripper, and as others have said, this little box is so much better. It’s worth pointing out that if you use the RCA outs, you can only control volume on your amp. If you use the 3.5mm jack, then you control volume from your iPad. With the correct toggle set in MusicCast (it’s a bit buried) you just use the volume buttons on your IOS device, or the onscreen slider where the app has that. Not all apps do, so it is important to track down this setting first. You would only use the optical out if you are certain the DAC in your amp is better than the one in this box. Overall, this is a brilliant little receiver.

This piece of kit is a really, really good streamer. The positives - The sound it produces is top notch - way better than any other similar piece of kit I've used before. I remain highly impressed by it even after a few months use. It'll meet all your sound / tone needs providing you don't need headache inducing bass performance. Furthermore, contrary to what lots of other reviewers say, the phone app works fine for me. The streamer is dead easy to set up and you can airplay your podcasts or music through it effortlessly. The negative - It's not a good looking piece of kit I'm afraid (it's just a grey box) and the on off-switch being located on the bottom of the unit can be a bit annoying ........ but doesn't change my overall conclusion that this box is well worth attention if you are looking for a quality streamer at a reasonable price. Hope that helps.

After reading some of the other reviews I was a little nervous about trying this. But knowing I could always send it back I decided to take a chance and am glad I did. The other reviews were helpful in identifying potential problems with wireless connection. My network is split between 5ghz and 2.4ghz with different SSIDs for each. Normally I have my phone connected to the faster 5ghz but I switched it to 2.4ghz before setting to the Yamaha as that only supports that frequency. Running setup in the MusicCast app was then straightforward and it device immediately and downloaded the latest firmware automatically. A quick restart and it was ready to go. Nice and easy! The app itself is nothing to write home about, it is basic but functional. I connected up my Tidal account and began streaming. It worked fine for a while but then lost connection with Tidal so I had to power it off and back on whereupon it reconnected straight away. It did that again a while later but ever since it has been mostly ok. I’ve had to force close the app a couple of times and power cycle the MusicCast device once more hence the loss of 1 star but for the most part it has been reliable and the sound quality is excellent. I do wish it could stream Tidal Masters (96/24) though rather than CD quality (44/16) but that’s a minor quibble.

I bought this to avoid having to avoid the necessity to run a computer all the time (with associated fan noise) running Airserv to provide Airplay facilities. I read a review of it in Gramophone magazine, whose reviews I respect, which was very complimentary. I wanted a good quality receiver to integrate streaming music into my elderly but high quality HiFi system and this does exactly this and does it well. The Yamaha MusicCast system is a bonus if I ever buy any other MusicCast devices. I currently have it connected by stereo phono leads to my Arcam Alpha 8 stereo amplifier. I bought it from Amazon warehouse at a low cost and although it came in the original packaging, the setup instructions were missing. This was no great problem; I simply downloaded them from the Yamaha website. Getting it onto the WiFi WLAN is a bit odd but it works well enough after a couple of attempts when the "connect" time expired. Once connected it does, as they say, exactly what it says on the tin. The Airplay facility works flawlessly and provides lossless playback. The net radio facility is great and I was able to add favourites like BBC Radio 3 and France Musique. The device supports streaming from a number of providers like Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz, Tidal etc but this is the one area where I was slightly disappointed to find that Idagio, my lossless classical music streaming provider, is not supported. No matter, I just stream it to Airplay from an iPad or iPhone. I am hoping that they will add Idagio in due course. All in all, a great device that does exactly what I wanted.