We plugged in Ethernet to give the MusicCast platform its easiest connection, a 4K Blu-ray player to its HDMI input, and an HDMI cable through to the TV. The connections are in two bays at the back, so cables pass easily under a TV leaving things nice and neat at the front. The bar proved low enough not to cover the bottom of our low-slung TV, though its reflective top was slightly distracting. The subwoofer is slim but tall, or could be lain down it’s a bass reflex cabinet ported to the front with its driver on the right side, so if standing it will be best positioned to the right of a TV where the driver can fire into space. Best subwoofers: deep bass for music and movies.Finally there’s Bluetooth for direct streaming from any device, though the MusicCast app can also play tunes from your device over Wi-Fi, which may give better quality.Īs a final trick, MusicCast can also send sound out via Bluetooth, so you could extend the audio to perhaps a small speaker in an open-plan kitchen to better hear things as you prepare food, or use wireless headphones to enjoy movies and music late at night without disturbing the rest of the home. MusicCast can also play from music shares on your home network via DLNA, while AirPlay 2 integrates it nicely into Apple-based homes. Once networked, MusicCast can deliver a wide range of online streaming services such as Tidal, Deezer, Spotify (including free Spotify accounts these days), and internet radio. You’ll also want to network the Bar 400 to activate the abilities of the MusicCast platform, either a wired Ethernet connection to your network, or using the iOS/Android MusicCast apps to connect it with your home Wi-Fi. It can however decode 5.1-channel audio arriving via its HDMI or optical input, and has DTS Virtual:X on board which promises ‘3D surround’ playback with “sound not only from horizontal directions, but also from varying heights”. The Bar 400 on its own is not a true surround device – it delivers 2.1 channels, so stereo plus the subwoofer. You can also plug one HDMI source directly into the bar itself, and you should pick the source from which you’re most interested in getting the best surround effect, perhaps your Blu-ray player or games console. There are also optical and analogue minijack audio inputs as fall-back inputs for TVs without ARC. The HDMI connections are reasonably straightforward, as most sound will come to the soundbar from the TV, down the Audio Return Channel of the HDMI cable you use to link the soundbar to your TV. If your TV is wall-mounted it could sit on cabinetry below, or it can itself be wall-mounted (“some knowledge of building construction is required for safe installation”, suggests Yamaha, sensibly). The bar is 98cm wide, though the more important dimension may be its height, just 6cm, low enough to avoid covering either the screen or the infrared receiver of many TVs.
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