First Impressions
When I first unboxed the Yamaha WXC-50 (~$350), I was impressed by the looks of the device right out of the box. It is compact so it can fit in tight spaces, but the solid metal body with aluminum cover looks first class. However, I wasn't impressed that Yamaha chose not to include any audio cables with the setup. I realize that there are tons of ways you can use this device, but at minimum, they could have included analog RCA cables. Instead of being able to use this out of the box, I was digging through drawers searching for cables.
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Despite the small size, which can be placed horizontally or vertically, theWXC-50 packs in a lot of features. It works with DLNA, Airplay, Bluetooth, has an optical input, and a standard aux input. It has digital outputs, a trigger in/out, and a subwoofer out if you want to use it with powered speakers., Its uses capable ESS DACs and the WXC-50 can handle hi resolution files, including DSD (up to 5.6 Mhz) and FLAC files up to 24/192.
The Yamaha MusicCast app give you complete control over the extensive features. You can also tweak sound quality, access your server, access internet radio, access Pandora, etc., with the app.
The device also comes with its own small remote. It can select the different inputs, access favorited internet stations with 6 presets, and pause, play, skip and go back to prior songs. The remote will even allow you to pause an Airplay signal or skip the song even though it is being served music from the iPhone.
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Despite the small size, which can be placed horizontally or vertically, theWXC-50 packs in a lot of features. It works with DLNA, Airplay, Bluetooth, has an optical input, and a standard aux input. It has digital outputs, a trigger in/out, and a subwoofer out if you want to use it with powered speakers., Its uses capable ESS DACs and the WXC-50 can handle hi resolution files, including DSD (up to 5.6 Mhz) and FLAC files up to 24/192.
The Yamaha MusicCast app give you complete control over the extensive features. You can also tweak sound quality, access your server, access internet radio, access Pandora, etc., with the app.
The device also comes with its own small remote. It can select the different inputs, access favorited internet stations with 6 presets, and pause, play, skip and go back to prior songs. The remote will even allow you to pause an Airplay signal or skip the song even though it is being served music from the iPhone.
All the Wonderful Things
I have tested Pandora, playing DSD files, playing 24/96 and 24/192 files, Airplay features, Bluetooth (both as a receiver and a transmitter) the optical input, the USB input, sent it an analog signal, and used the internet radio features. If you are using the pre-amp outputs everything works great with any signal. However, I should mention that that I was unable to get DSD audio from the Aux outputs (separate section from the pre-amp outs). Also, the Bluetooth transmitter seems slow to find devices. I was unable to get it to send a Bluetooth audio signal to my Echo Dot. It was able to find my Bluetooth Denon receiver and send audio to it. I also tried it with my Parrot Zik 2.0 headphones and those worked without a problem, as well. The issue with the Dot could be that it does not have the required specs to work with the WCX-50 or the Dot has an issue on its end, so I would not read a whole lot into that issue unless you are buying this specifically to send the Dot a Bluetooth signal.
Speaking of Bluetooth transmitting, it does not work with all audio. I could get it to play music on my Denon receiver when I would send it 24/192 files from my server, but it could not handle DSD. It worked with internet radio, but it would not send out an Airplay signal. It also worked with the optical digital input and the analog input. However, there is a lag between the main speakers and the Bluetooth receiver, so I would not recommend this as a whole home solution. I would pick which device you want to listen to music on and mute the other device. I should mention that Yamaha has many MusicCast devices and speakers and I would guess that they would handle the lag better, but I do not own any other MusicCast devices, so I can't comment on how they would work together.
Speaking of Bluetooth transmitting, it does not work with all audio. I could get it to play music on my Denon receiver when I would send it 24/192 files from my server, but it could not handle DSD. It worked with internet radio, but it would not send out an Airplay signal. It also worked with the optical digital input and the analog input. However, there is a lag between the main speakers and the Bluetooth receiver, so I would not recommend this as a whole home solution. I would pick which device you want to listen to music on and mute the other device. I should mention that Yamaha has many MusicCast devices and speakers and I would guess that they would handle the lag better, but I do not own any other MusicCast devices, so I can't comment on how they would work together.
How I Use It
The way I am using the WCX-50 is to feed a Little Dot MKIII Headphone amp (see above) via the pre-amp outs and I am also using it with a Marantz vintage receiver via the slightly more limited aux output. I have the Marantz hooked up to an iHome plug so that I can turn it on and off by voice using Siri orAlexa/Echo.
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One of my favorite ways to use it with the Marantz is to tell the Alexa to send music to the WCX-50 (which pairs fine with the Echo Dot for receiving Bluetooth audio) and then telling it to turn on the Marantz and play music. I can do all of this from the couch via voice. I have my extensive music library on Amazon's servers, so I can listen to most of my favorite music that way.
For more serious listening, I use the Little Dot MKIII with a pair ofHiFiMan headphones and the sound quality from the WXC-50 is outstanding. Even when using Bluetooth as a source, its EQ capabilities, like advanced Bass Extension and Compressed Music Enhancer, make it sound very good.
In the picture above, you will also notice that I also have a Little Dot DAC1. I haven't removed it from the setup because I bought the amp and DAC together, but the Little Dot DAC1 will also take a USB feed from my iPhone via the Camera Connection Kit (USB3.0 to Lightning cable) and send the digital signal out via analog (using the DAC). To get that benefit, I have the Little Dot DAC1 feeding the analog inputs on the WXC-50, so it all works great together. Honestly, I could live with Airplay rather than a direct connection, but this just gives me a bit more flexibility if I am having home network issues.
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
One of my favorite ways to use it with the Marantz is to tell the Alexa to send music to the WCX-50 (which pairs fine with the Echo Dot for receiving Bluetooth audio) and then telling it to turn on the Marantz and play music. I can do all of this from the couch via voice. I have my extensive music library on Amazon's servers, so I can listen to most of my favorite music that way.
For more serious listening, I use the Little Dot MKIII with a pair ofHiFiMan headphones and the sound quality from the WXC-50 is outstanding. Even when using Bluetooth as a source, its EQ capabilities, like advanced Bass Extension and Compressed Music Enhancer, make it sound very good.
In the picture above, you will also notice that I also have a Little Dot DAC1. I haven't removed it from the setup because I bought the amp and DAC together, but the Little Dot DAC1 will also take a USB feed from my iPhone via the Camera Connection Kit (USB3.0 to Lightning cable) and send the digital signal out via analog (using the DAC). To get that benefit, I have the Little Dot DAC1 feeding the analog inputs on the WXC-50, so it all works great together. Honestly, I could live with Airplay rather than a direct connection, but this just gives me a bit more flexibility if I am having home network issues.
A Quick Look at My Living Room
The picture above was taken before I put this setup together, but I wanted to show it because it gives you an idea of how it works in my setup. The red chair is where I listen to a lot of music. I have the WXC-50/Little Dot on the shelf next to it, so I can lean back in my "stressless" chair and have music fed right into my soul. The Marantz, which is on the top shelf is hooked up to some vintage Pinnacle speakers and is also getting an audio signal from the WXC-50. Finally, my main setup, with Monitor Audio speakers can be paired via Bluetooth and receive an audio signal from the WXC-50. All in all, it gives me a lot different ways to appreciate all of the WXC-50 features.
The Wrap Up
To wrap up, I was using an Airport Express in this setup in the past and it worked fine, but the WXC-50 looks better, sounds better, has many more audiophile features without shorting you on convenient features for when you just want background music. When you consider that stand-alone DACS can be priced in the same range, the WCX-50 is a bargain. All in all, this is a special audio device that has so many features that it would please almost any music fan. I know that I am very pleased with it!!!
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
Note: I get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products in this post.
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