The remote controls provided with the MCX-1000 and the MCX-A10 are ergonomic and sufficient for allowing access to the playback and navigation functions of the client and server. I liked the direct access "top menu"button on the server remote, which allows you to jump back to the main menu without having to back out of each section. This came in handy in almost every listening session. Navigation on the client via hard buttons is via central joystick and play/stop buttons, so there's not much control unless you grab the remote. The credit card sized MCX2 remote control provides "pause" in addition to several other commonly used buttons (at least with my usage habits). Overall, these remotes are good at what they do, though I programmed the server remote into my MX-700 almost immediately - hey, if you have a Universal Remote, you gotta use it!

Note: Not to scale

Conclusions and Opinions

With regards to advances in the world of Consumer Audio, Yamaha has been making some incredible strides lately. The MCX-1000 and MCX-A10 units are no exception. The country's homes are going wireless and more and more people are integrating these kinds of technologies into their everyday lives. I am glad to see the world of consumer audio finally start to move in this direction. Yamaha's implementation of this technology is excellent, however we do have a few suggestions. First of all, as mentioned previously, we would love to see the MusicCAST server be able to burn files onto data CDs (this may involve reclassifying the MusicCAST device as a computer, thus allowing it to avoid SCMS restrictions, which are largely useless with today's technology). The next thing I would like to see is for the unit to be positioned at a more consumer-friendly price point. I suspect that Yamaha could sell exponentially more units if the MusicCAST system were priced at around $1000. This may seem like a tremendous price drop, but I believe that once early adopters pay for the R&D involved in creating such a new device, Yamaha may be able to introduce a lower priced model in the future. We can always hope! The final thing we'd like to see is a larger hard drive*. 80GB is not capable of eliminating my CD collection at PCM quality, and that is what I'd like to see in a revised edition. For a $2800 price tag, I feel the MusicCAST should have at least a 160GB drive.

*Currently, larger hard drives are available for purchase via authorized Yamaha dealers. Pricing is determined by the dealer and is not standardized.

Overall, we LOVE this device and hope to see more of this kind of innovation from other consumer electronics companies. Until then, Yamaha is leading the pack and other companies will have to play catch-up.

UPDATE (10/16/2003) According to Yamaha, the November 2003 firmware release/update will add the following:

• Broadcast function - The same song is sent to all locations (excellent for parties)
• Multicast function - 3 locations play one song, 2 locations play another song
• Recall - Clients can recall/transfer playback lists from other clients
• Addition of RX-2400 and RX-Z9 receivers to controllable receivers list.