Yamaha WX010 Wireless Speaker Review

Recently we had the chance to demo the Yamaha WX010 Wireless Speaker. This speaker is part of Yamaha’s MusicCast line of products, which feature the ability to pair & sync speakers throughout your home, utilizing your Wi-Fi connection.

Out Of The Box / Setup
The beautiful thing about the Yamaha WX010 is its simplicity. The box only contains the speaker and a single power cord. Gone are the days of untangling and running speaker wires throughout your baseboards. Setting up the speaker was extremely easy. Skipping the provided instructions, I simply downloaded the app, turned the speaker on, and followed the on-screen instructions. It took 2 minutes from the time I downloaded the app, to the time I was listening to my first song.

The MusicCast App
The MusicCast app is very usable and intuitive. After the setup, the on-screen display gives you a quick walkthrough on how to add speakers to rooms, choose a music source, and access settings. Like most wireless speakers, the WX010 comes with sources such as Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, Napster, SiriusXM, Deezer, Airplay, as well as Internet Radio. Unlike other wireless speakers, however, this speaker includes Bluetooth as another option to allow you to send content from your smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Sound Quality
Despite its small size, the WX010 produces a great deal of sound. In our tests it performed well in a 10×10 room, being loud enough to fill the room with sound without distorting. Any larger of a room and we’d recommend adding a second speaker or upgrading to the larger WX030 model. One recurring issue with this speaker and many smaller Wi-Fi speakers is that it is essentially outputting a Mono signal (as it’s only a single speaker). For casual listening this may not be an issue, for more serious listeners we’d recommend adding a second WX010, which gives you the ability to pair them in a Left-Right stereo configuration. This will let you listen to music as it was designed to be heard.

Pairing With Other MusicCast Systems
Yamaha has designed their MusicCast system to be compatible with a wide range of their audio products. Sound bars, Wireless Speakers, Home Theatre receivers can now all be controlled simultaneously from the MusicCast app. This is the feature that gives the WX010 a leg up on its wireless speaker competitors. For those who already have a home theatre system using a Yamaha MusicCast receiver, you can easily pair the WX010 with your existing system, creating a wireless multi-room audio setup in your home. This is perfect when hosting parties, as music can now be heard throughout your home without any single source having to be so loud that it’s difficult to hear who you’re speaking with.

Final Thoughts
Overall, the WX010 would be a great choice as a standalone speaker in a smaller room such as a bedroom, office, or dorm room. It truly shines when paired with other Yamaha MusicCast products. If you have a medium-large size room but still want a single unit, be sure to check out the WX030 model which should better suit your needs.