So I don't really understand the workings of such devices as the Yamaha WXAD-10 and the Chromecast but reading a bit on the Yamaha, I understand that it needs an app (that is available for iOS or Android platforms) to set it up/control it. If you don't already have a smart phone or ipad, that might mean extra expense. I'm presuming that once up and running, you can pair it to a bluetooth device (such as a laptop in the absence of a smartphone etc.) and stream from the laptop.
As others have said you might be better off just getting a used phone/table or even a cheap/used Amazon tablet, which you can then use solely as a remote if you want.
But it might be worth stepping back and understanding the various ways you can stream music to your HiFi.
(This isn't meant to be a perfect summary showing all edge case, just an overview to understand at a high level how the various protocol differ. Thought it might be useful to others in future too)
This isn't meant to be a guide to 'what to buy' more helping you understand the various jargon.
Protocols only
These are simply ways of getting audio from A to B, they don't have their own 'apps' and normally require you to use a 3rd party app ie. the streaming services own app or a 3rd party audio app. If built into a device you may need to use that devices menus to enable them, but normally this can be done via a hardware remote control or web browser.
Bluetooth
You'd plug a Bluetooth receiving device (receiver) into an analog RCA input on your amp. You'd then send the audio output of your laptop (encoded into a digital Bluetooth audio stream) to that receiving device. Bluetooth is sent as a radio wave rather than over the network, so range is limited. The device then converts it back into an analog signal that you can connect to your HiFi (like you would a CD player).
These are fairly dumb devices, think of them as a radio receiver/transmitter, with your laptop being the transmitter. Although if your laptop doesn't support Bluetooth you might need a cheap Bluetooth USB dongle.
Most devices will work without setup/configuration. No dedicated control app needed, just plays the output of your PC.
Pro: Cheap, The basic devices can be setup without an app or web browser. Allows playback of any audio source or audio app on your laptop.
Cons: Laptop needs to be on while music is playing. Bluetooth audio isn't optional quality. Range is limited (as signal is sent as a radio wave). Will play all audio from your laptop, including laptop sounds/alerts.
Airplay
This is Apple's 'local network' audio streaming protocol (ie. the data is sent over your wired or wifi network). AirPlay will either be built into a device, be that an amp or streamer or in the case of or it could just be an AirPort Express connected to an RCA input on your amp.
Most audio devices will support Airplay without setup/configuration (an Airport Express requires a laptop to setup). No dedicated control app needed, just plays the audio from whatever app you are using to play / stream music on your laptop.
Pro: Cheap (Airport Express) or free (if it's already built into a device you already own). CD quality, stable connection/unlimited range (or rather is limited by the quality of your home WiFi network). Allows playback of any audio source or audio app on your laptop. No setup needed fro AirPlay (although an Apple device is needed to setup a physical Airport Express).
Cons: (realistically) Apple only, laptop needs to be on while music is playing, doesn't handle Hi-Res/CD+ quality (whether that matters / you can hear any difference is another matter).
DLNA
DLNA is also an open/non-propritery network streaming protocol (and often built into audio devices). But under the hood the streamer is the device requesting/retrieving the remote stream and the software that comes with the device (or some 3rd party control software running on your laptop) is telling it what stream to request.
This is where (under the hood) it differs from the direct A->B approach used by Airplay and Bluetooth. Although at first glance it may seem like your streaming direct from your laptop, in fact your laptop is simply telling the DLNA device (the renderer) where to get the stream from (*). The advantage of this approach is that your laptop isn't tied up handling the actual streaming.
(* to slightly confuse maters the remote DLNA device/renderer could be requesting the audio steam from the same machine that initiated the playback. But in the case of streaming services it will normally be the streaming services remote servers).
Requires a DLNA supporting control app on laptop, often this is the app that comes with the device, but can also be a 3rd party DLNA app. Can normally be enabled (or a streamer / receiver) via a remote control or web browser, but this does vary by device (so do check first).
Pro: Can handle full Hi-Res quality, you can take your laptop off of the picture once an Album or playlist has started.
Cons: Needs a dedicated control app, be that the one that comes with your DLNA supporting device or a 3rd party 'control' app to initiate playback. Not directly supported by native Spotify / Tidal apps.
It is however is supported by the
Qobuz desktop app via a 'beta' setting. It is also supported by 3rd party
Audirvana desktop app (paid).
Chomecast
Chromecast is similar to DLNA in that it handles the requesting of a remote stream itself, with the app/browser on your laptop simply initiating the playback. It's proprietary to Google, but well supported, meaning that you can stream to a Chromecast device from various music services using the native Qobuz and Tidal desktop apps as well as 3rd party audio apps. It also has a built in Spotify Connect client (see below) allowing the native Spotify desktop app to stream to it naively.
Pro: Cheap, widely supported.
Cons: Streaming app needs to support Chromecast (or work in Chrome web browser) - most do.
Single service clients / protocols
These are protocol built/supplied by individual streaming services to work well with their native apps, which often - but not always - offer better interfaces than the generic control apps. Like the above protocols these services are built into various audio device and streamers.
The downside to this approach is if you use multi streaming services (ie. one for music and one for radio) and would rather use a single app to control them all.
Spotify Connect
Spotify have their own audio protocol / client that is built into many devices, including Chromecast and many low-cost boxes. Like DLNA and Chomecast the audio is streamed direct from the device itself with the native Spotify app controlling / initiating playback.
Pro: Cheap, widely supported.
Cons: Only works with Spotify
Tidal Connect
Similar to Spotify, Tidal have their own client / protocol, albeit much less supported.
Pro: Limited device support
Cons: Only works with Tidal
Platforms / eco-systems
These hardware/software platforms normally have their own apps and direct arrangements with the streaming platforms (which allow you to use a single app to control multiple services). Although most support many of the above protocols directly as a fallback.
They normally excel in support for local music collections/libraries and multi room playback.
But you may find them overkill if you're simply using them to playback Spotify to a single device.
Sonos
Sonos have their own audio protocols/ecosystem that handles the streams directly (ie. the audio isn't routed via your laptop), with the desktop/mobile app simply acting as a remote. Sonos have cross platform desktop apps (at a high level this is the main way you control playback from all streaming services, although you can also use the native Spotify client if you wish). You can also use AirPlay to stream audio content direct from your Apple devices — although your phone/laptop must remain connected while streaming for this to work.
Pro: Works well, huge customer base, wide range of streaming services supported. Solid cross platform desktop and mobile apps. Limited number of 3rd party protocol supported (AirPlay/Spotify Connect). Good Mutiroom support. Supports local music.
Cons: Expensive (esp. if your only using it to stream to a single setup/not using their speakers elsewhere/not using the multi-room features). Requires use of Sonos app for most services, but can use native Spotify app or AirPlay direct from your phone or laptop (however your phone/laptop must remain connected while streaming for Airplay to work).
MusicCast
In short, this is
Yamaha's version of Sonos.
Pro: Wide range of streaming services and 3rd party protocols (ie. AirPlay/DLNA/Spotify Connect) supported. Mutiroom support. Supports local music.
Cons: Expensive (esp. if only using it to stream Spotify), Native MusicCast client is mobile only (ie. no native desktop app) and is required to stream most services at full quality, although you can use native Spotify app or AirPlay/Bluetooth direct from your phone or laptop (however your phone/laptop must remain connected while streaming for AirPlay/Bluetooth to work).
BlueOS
In short, this is NADs version of Sonos.
BlueOS is the operating system that runs on devices like the
Node 2i and various NAD devices.
Pro: Wide range of streaming services and 3rd party protocols (ie. AirPlay/Roon/Spotify Connect) supported. Cross platform desktop and mobile apps. Supports local music.
Cons: Expensive (esp. if only using it to stream Spotify). Native BlueOS app required to stream most services at full quality, although you can use native Spotify app or AirPlay/Bluetooth direct from your phone or laptop (however your phone/laptop must remain connected while streaming for AirPlay/Bluetooth to work).
Roon
Again
Roon is similar (at a very high level) to Sonos/BlueOS/MusicCast in that it's a multi-room networked audio ecosystem that has it's own mobile and desktop control apps. But rather than running on dedicated/propriety hardware it's centralised server software can be installed on a standard off-the-shelf PC hardware. It can then stream to a variety of audio devices (not just those of one manufacturer) using a variety of different audio protocols. If you don't have a local music collection or multiple audio devices to playback to it's almost certainly overkill.
Pro: Superb interface and features. Not tied to a single hardware manufacturer/vendor. Superb local music library support. Superb multi room support.
Cons: Expensive, limited range of streaming services supported. Ideally need additional hardware to run the server software on. Roon itself is purely software.
Logitech Media Server (LMS)
Logitech Media Server aka LMS aka
PiCorePlayer was originally the backend server component of the Logitech range of Squeezebox devices. After Logitech stopped making the hardware devices the community took over the development of the server software. Nowadays when people talk about LMS they are normally referring to the open sourced audio ecosystem that has sprung up around LMS, often using low cost Raspberry Pi (RPi) computers.
You can think of LMS as a free / hobbyists version of Roon, albeit without quite the same commercial polish. Out of the box LMS looks a bit dated, but by enabling the '
Material Skin' plugin within LMS you can an interface that brings it more up to date.
Almost certainly not not an option for the OP - but thought I'd add it for completeness.
Pros: Free. Extremely flexible / customisable.
PiCorePlayer effectively gets you a full blown network streamer for just over £100. Great multi-room support. Good local library support.
Cons: More for DIY fans & tinkerers. Can be 'comparatively' complex to setup and you'll need to read setup guides and understand how the various components fit together. LMS itself is purely software.
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So in short you can buy a device like Bluesound's Node 2i that will cover all bases or you can pick a device that ticks just the boxes you need.
Spotify is kind of a special case as they managed to get their 'Spotify Connect' client built into thousands of devices. So in the case of Spotify you can simply use the native Spotify desktop client in most cases.
Where is gets more complex is if you want to playback non-Spotify sources ie. local music or other streaming services. Your options are then:
- Buy a device that supports those services directly via a special/bespoke agreement and then use the devices own app to browse/control playback - in which case the quality/support of the vendors app is an important consideration.
- Buy a device that implements a particular streaming services own 'client' (ie. like Spotify Connect) and use the streaming services native desktop app.
- Use a protocol like AirPlay/Bluetooth to stream whatever is currently playing on your laptop to a device that supports that protocol.
- Use a Chromecast or DLNA supporting desktop control app (this could also be a streaming services native app if it supports those protocols) to initiate playback of a stream on a remote device that supports one of those protocol.