Customer Reviews

Yamaha RP-U100 CAVIT External Audio Soundboard

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one truly impressive PC Receiver (External Sound Card). Although Yamaha's website does not mention XP, it does work under XP. Just plug the USB cable into the computer and XP automatically installs all the required drivers. Install the software on the CD and you can control the receiver from the computer. Unfortunately the Yamaha driver does not work under XP (only 98/me/2000), and as a result I cannot get the inputs to work with the computer. On the positive side, since the unit works out of the box with XP with no drivers needed, you can rest assured that it will very likely work with future version of Windows. (It also works with Mac out of the box I've heard).

So, with that out of the way, let's talk about the important stuff.

First, the receiver can function without a PC. In fact, almost all the features can be accessed. You can select the inputs, set DSP mode, select FM preset, and tuning to a particular station, all without using the PC. This is extremely important, as you would not want to buy something that will only work when the PC is on. I am glad Yamaha designed the unit with this in mind.

The sound from the receiver is simply incredible. The DAC on the unit appears to be quite good. If you are using the build-in sound card on the motherboard or a plain old sound blaster, you should immediately hear the difference. The sound is richer, has more resolution, and has more punch to it. The amp on the headphone jack is also quite good and delivers excellent sound quality on cheap and expensive headphones. It plays loud enough and reach the max my ear can handle way before maxing out.

Perhaps the best thing is the unit is a looker. It looks really cute, according to one female coworker. The construction is rock solid, it weights a hefty 12 pounds! I've used an external Sound Blaster Extigy and this unit feels much more like a real receiver.

I think "Blair from Chicago" missed the point of having this receiver. This receiver is all about sound quality. It's like buying a BMW and complains that the Corolla also takes you there at a much cheaper price. :)

The only shortcoming is the software. Even though I acquired this in Aug 2003 (at an extremely good price btw), the CD still contains software from 1999 and Yamaha's website offers no software update. The software works, but by 2003 standards it feels a little strange. I am not that bothered by it however, I'd rather have awesome hardware and wimpy software than the other way around. I know I will be enjoying this receiver for years to come, no matter what computer/OS I will use in the future.

Yamaha has tempted me into buying one of these fancy units. On top of looking great with modern furniture, this unit also works well with my laptop. Why? USB digital-in is my desired feature, while the unit also shows-off more than just a few analog and digital inputs. This unit has become the central unit for all my sound systems. I've connected it to my pc, my regular sound system, and my MD. Oh and i just took my aiwa speakers off the old system and connected them on to this one. Works just fine the way I like it.

Buy this system if you can afford it.

I can't add much to Raymond Chi's comments about the build and audio quality of the RP-U100 .... I'm not sure its really hi-fi with the NS-U50 speakers Yamaha designed to go with it, but its light years better than any sound card I've heard before, and its totally unfair to compare it to equipment that costs many times more. In a word, the sound is _fabulous_ for a computer.

My experience with the software and XP, however, was much better than Mr. Chi's. I installed the software before making the USB connection, as the manual suggests. Subsequent installation of the software went without a hitch. The interface is a little dated and counter-intuitive, but it works perfectly -- all the functionality described in the help files works well. You can really geek with some of the complex settings for reverb, equalization, etc. With just a USB connection to the PC, I can even pipe analog sources into the CAVIT and rip them in realtime on the PC. What a great toy!

I was unable to install the RP-U100 under XP, so I installed it on a windows 2000 pc, then copied the installed program, RP-100.exe to my windows XP pc. It all works fine, I can control all features of the RP-U100 including turning it on and off from the PC!

While cleaning up around the computer room I found I had one of these stashed behind the desk. So I looked it up and read some reviews here to see what I had been missing all these years. I do recall when I bought it, many years ago, it was one of those "Great Deals" I just had to have... I never did hook it up to the PC back then, just fooled with the tuner a little and then put it away out of sight, till now that is. Yesterday when I tried to load the software Windows 7, 64 bit took care of it without a hitch and now I have it working fine it's great for internet music and puts out great sound. I'm sure it will make movies and TV on the PC sound a lot better. Just did it last night so not much else was examined, I can say the desktop icon works on all choices, I can even turn it on and off from the icon. Well that's my September 2009 update.

bought the RP-U100 for about (...)over a year ago. Nice to have the built in AM/FM radio at times seperate from the computer so you can do two things at once. The NS-U50 speakers are a must for this system and can be found for $30 a pair. Exceptional Japanese high tone clarity (weak bass)driven efficiently with the NS-U50 speakers. Can also drive any medium size stereo speakers (30watts a channel x2). This is only a 2 channel system that can emulate surround sound. With the RP-U200 you have a 5.1 powered (12W channel) system that you can set up surround-sound environments. The DP-50U is the unpowered 5.1 system (minus AM/FM) that can also set up surround sound environments. With the 5.1 Yamaha systems you can actually set-up/design your surround sound environment (this was not possible until the most recent $100+ audio cards about 6months ago). No remote with the RP-U100. This is the best small audio system I have seen/heard for a notebook and works exceptionally well with Windows Media Player EQ/SRS. Built exceptionally well--this is Yamaha and not a cheap Creative Labs system. For more bass try Klipsch computer speakers.

For full power make sure you set up the Yamaha EQ also instead/on-top of the Microsoft EQ. This will give you much better Bass. With Yamaha they always under-rate their amps, so 30watts is really like 40watts RMS. This system will power efficient bookshelf type speakers. 8 Ohm speakers will be driven (about 30%) less efficiently than 6 Ohm surround type speakers.

specs:
30W x 2, 6 Ohms, .6%THD

3 Inputs:
PC IN
AUX1 IN
AUX2 IN

3 Outputs:
AUX2 Out
Subwoofer
Headphone
(2 speakers 30W x 2)

alot of other companies now (2005) are just starting to copy this type of product. --but most of them still look cheap.. --Creative specifically.

Just got this today and I cannot express how EASILY I set it up and the sound quality is INCREDIBLE! It works GREAT with Windows XP, just plug it in and reboot and Windows XP finds it and adds it perfectly. Had everything up and running (Using the NS-U50 speakers) within 15 minutes. Could not ask for a better deal! If you are looking for a good Cavit, get this while they are still here! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

I picked up this unit a while back when Yamaha was running a rebate. Not even sure if I got the rebate check or not.
I loaded the Yamaha software on a WIndows XP PC. No problem. It was a bit confusing at first how to play mp3 files until I played with the PC-USB settings. I have this unit tied to a LogiTech Z680 system. It is great device to connect multiple audio sources. In my case, I have four PCs audio output going to the Yamaha using this unit as a audio source selector.

The idea of doing digital-to-analog conversion outside of the electrically noisy PC case is a great one. The amplifiers and FM tuner in the Yamaha are reasonably good. Limitations of Microsoft Windows, however, make the idea of using the PC as your primary source of background or household music problematic. Suppose that you're playing a quiet classical MP3, having cranked up the volume reasonably high so that you can hear all of the notes. Meanwhile you hit the wrong button in a PC app. The system puts a beep through the Yamaha that is loud enough to wake the dead. You can go into the Sounds control panel on XP and say that you want "no sounds". You'll no longer be aurally assaulted by Windows and Office. However, if you're surfing the Web and land on a cheesy site with MIDI background music or a newspaper photo essay with narration the operating system will mix whatever noise-spam is coming from the Web page with the MP3 that is playing.

I found that the Yamaha software stopped working after a few months, i.e., one cannot control the unit from the PC anymore. This might be because I've plugged the USB cable into another port. So I guess the bottom line on this unit is that it makes home audio equipment just as unreliable and confusing as home PC equipment... (still this is the audiophile's way to convert MP3s and play them on a desktop)

I don't know where Raymond Chi got his information but this product does NOT work with XP. I have this product and XP and they do NOT play well together. Even in his own reveiw he contradicts himself in his first paragraph. First he says it works with XP then he goes on to say it doesn't. I doubt if he's ever had this product. He probably just writes reveiws to see his own name on the Internet.