AliceThis August will see Amazon Alexa voice control come to Yamaha’s MusicCast Multiroom system, making it possible to distribute music throughout the house using voice control.
This update will come via a firmware update, affecting more than 40 products in the MusicCast line-up – from AV receivers to sound bars to streaming speakers, while an Alexa skill that adds support for the MusicCast commands will simultaneously be made available for Alexa-enabled devices, including Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Tap and Amazon Fire TV.
However, should users not want to wait until August to use Amazon Alexa in combination with a multiroom system, there is a solution: Since the Echo Dot offers a Bluetooth output, it can be paired with any MusicCast wireless speaker, sound bar or AV receiver.
After that, the two devices can be connected by the user saying “Alexa, connect.” The sound of the Echo Dot can then be played back through a single MusicCast device, or multiple devices can be linked using the MusicCast app.
Many MusicCast products also offer inputs that can be connected to Echo Dot via its line output, if a wired connection is preferred over Bluetooth. This requires using an optional analogue audio cable. Using the MusicCast app, the user can select the wired input and link multiple MusicCast devices for playback.