X

Yamaha unveils mid-priced MusicCast bar with 4K compatibility

Yamaha has announced its $500 MusicCast Bar 400 which offers HDMI connectivity and a wireless subwoofer.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury
yamaha-musiccast-bar-400-soun-bar-with-wireles-subwoofer-1
Yamaha

For a long time I've maintained that spending over $400 on a sound bar is money that could be better placed on something else -- Elac Debut speakers and a Yamaha amp, for example. But if the performance of the $500 Yamaha MusicCast Bar 400 meets expectations, I might be tempted to make an exception.

The MusicCast Bar 400 is a stylish-looking sound bar which comes with a dedicated subwoofer. Even the subwoofer looks like one of the company's standalone subs and not the plastic afterthought you usually see attached to sound bars.

The Bar 400 features a number of different connection options including a 4K HDR-passing HDMI input and HDMI output (ARC) in addition to digital optical for older TVs and an analog input.

As this is a MusicCast bar it includes the company's multi-room system over either Wi-Fi and Ethernet, plus AirPlay and Bluetooth . To maximize compatibility the sound bar will decode both Dolby Digital and DTS, plus it offers DTS Virtual:X for simulated surround sound.

The MusicCast Bar 400 is the company's first to offer MusicCast Surround, which enables users to add MusicCast 20 or MusicCast 50 speakers to use as wireless surrounds. The unit also offers Alexa control of MusicCast -- with the choosing of favorites, controlling playback or assigning rooms.

The MusicCast Bar 400 will be available in September for $500, £600 or AU$800.

Best sound bars under $300

See all photos
Watch this: ​Yamaha's YAS-207 sound bar one of the best for the money