Yamaha Announces Product Updates for AirPlay 2, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, eARC, and More

Several new and expanded features are coming to select Yamaha devices.

Yamaha has detailed a series of upcoming firmware and app updates for a variety of home theater products. As part of the upgrades, select devices will receive AirPlay 2 support, Qobuz high-res streaming, expanded Spotify Connect capabilities, support for Actions on Google, and eARC capabilities.

"Our line of home audio products features some of the most robust hardware in the industry. We've been meticulously focused on building on that foundation to enhance the value our customers derive from our latest products through a series of free firmware updates," said Alex Sadeghian, director, Consumer Audio, Yamaha Corporation of America. "With these firmware updates, we’re giving our customers more choices for how they enjoy their favorite music and audio content. Plus, they now have the option to use their favorite voice assistant, whether it’s Siri, the Google Assistant or Alexa, to control the experience throughout their homes."

With AirPlay 2 support, compatible devices will be able to stream Apple Music and other music services from an iPhone, iPad, HomePod and Mac to multiple Yamaha products and other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers in sync and at the same time. Likewise, voice control will also be supported via separate Siri devices.

Meanwhile, other updates include Qobuz high-resolution music streaming at up to 192 kHz / 24-bit; Spotify Connect support for free Spotify accounts; Actions on Google capabilities for voice control of compatible Yamaha devices through the Google Assistant; and eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) for uncompressed audio formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS- HD, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X.

Here's a full rundown of products set to receive each feature and when the updates are set to be available per Yamaha:

Actions on Google

• April 16 - All MusicCast models since 2015.

eARC

• Starting late April - RX-A 80 Series AV receivers, RX-A 70 Series AV receivers, RX-V 85 Series AV receivers, RX-V 83 Series AV receivers, RX-S602 Slimline AV receiver, TSR-7850 AV receiver, TSR-5830 AV receiver, CX-A5200 AV preamp/processor.

AirPlay 2, Qobuz and Spotify Connect 

• Starting late April - MusicCast 20 and MusicCast 50 wireless speakers, MusicCast BAR 400 sound bar, RX-A 80 Series AV receivers, RX-V 85 Series AV receivers, RX-S602 slimline AV receiver, ATS-4080 sound bar, TSR-7850 AV receiver, CX-A5200 AV preamp/processor, XDA-QS5400 MusicCast Multi-Room Streaming Amplifier.
• Second half of 2019 - MusicCast VINYL 500 turntable 

Source: Yamaha