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It wasn’t so long ago that the entire family would gather together to enjoy music in one room, and while sitting and listening to a crackly rendition of the Glen Miller Orchestra as father smokes a pipe and mother frets about what the neighbours think are very outdated concepts, individual members of the family still enjoy listening to music, but in their own space. Up until fairly recently this would’ve necessitated a separate system for every room, but now with the advent of multi-room one system can stream music anywhere in the house that you care to stick a set of speakers. All of which brings us rather neatly to Yamaha’s answer to multi-room, MusicCast. Rather than design a range of speakers to form a line of products, MusicCast is a feature set that has been added to a selection of Yamaha’s audio components allowing you to assemble a multi-room setup that includes the elements you desire in the places you want them. In principle this means that buying a system like the MCR-N870D (pictured above) isn’t just a way of filling one room with music, it’s potentially the first step to filling the entire house.

Part of the ‘Grand Piano Craft’ line of small separates, the MCR-N870D comprises the A-U670 integrated amplifier and the CD-NT670D CD network receiver. At first glance, this pairing is just another fairly ordinary amp and CD combo, but as we found out when we tested it back in HFC 408, it’s so much more than that.

Featuring a USB input supporting sampling rates up to 24-bit/192kHz and DSD up to 5.6MHz, the A-U670 Class D amplifier boasts 2x 70W quoted power output. Meanwhile the CD-NT670D features a 24/192-capable network streamer and the ability to connect to other MusicCast products – of which there are many – for music around the home.

The most immediately apparent aspect of the performance is that there is no shortage of power and headroom on offer. The system has no trouble going impressively loud and sounding free of any strain or edginess as it does so. There’s a refinement and slight midrange warmth that flatters poor recordings, allowing them to sound fuller and smoother than they are – but tempers that with considerable treble energy that allows music to sound altogether more energetic. In short, we were impressed.

And thanks to the good folk at Yamaha, we’ve not only got a MCR-N870D system to giveaway, but we’ll also throw in some wireless speakers in the shape of the £200 WX-030 and £400 ISX-80. Answer the fiendishly easy question online to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize.

WX-030
This compact wi-fi-enabled streaming speaker is worth £200 and can be tabletop or wall mounted. With its 90mm woofer, 30mm tweeter and a passive radiator, it has a surprisingly meaty sound considering its decidedly diminutive dimensions.

Restio ISX-80
Restio’s compact 302mm square form can be placed on a shelf or wall mounted and is worth £400. It features dual 30mm soft dome tweeters and dual 80mm subwoofers, along with a built-in tuner and claims 2x 15W power output.

Read our reveiw of the Yamaha MCR-N870D here

To be in with a chance of winning answer this simple question:

What is Yamaha's innovative multi-room sound system called? 

A) MusicFast
B) MusicLast
C) MusicCast

Click here to submit your answer and enter the competition