Hi-Fi: Advance Paris MyCast 7

French Advance Paris has once again shown us how it can produce an all-in-one music system that sounds good but is still in demand in the field of the convenience of everyday use.

Advance Paris ’MyCast 7 music system is remarkably similar to the company’s MyConnect 60 mode. 

MyConnect 60 lacks HDMI ARC input for easier connection to the TV, as well as some features in the official mobile app, such as direct input selection. The new MyCast 7 corrects one of those two flaws: it got HDMI ARC input.

However, its implementation is not optimal. Although there are no problems with the quality of the sound transmitted via HDMI, HDMI-CEC technology, which is responsible for the mutual control of devices connected via HDMI, behaves unpredictably. 

For example, turning on the TV does not wake MyCast 7 from standby, nor does it automatically switch the active input to HDMI if something else is currently playing on MyCast 7. Therefore, you will always need to have a larger remote control than MyCast 7 on hand. The Advance Playstream mobile app can't help you with that, as it still doesn't have an input selection section on MyCast 7.

In practice, it is best to turn off HDMI-CEC completely, as this is the only way to prevent MyCast 7 from turning on the TV automatically after each power-up. 

This means that you won't be able to use the TV remote control to adjust the volume of the MyCast 7, but it's certainly less annoying than the hassle of turning off the TV every time you want to listen to music or a radio station. HDMI-CEC turns off on the device itself, in Menu> CEC Control> Off.

We were not thrilled by the fact that the Advance app does not recognize the device when it is turned off, so it is not possible to simply open it, select the desired music and wait a few moments for it to play. You must first turn on the device manually, and then wait for it to lift, which takes longer than expected. 

Sound from the HDMI input will be heard after fifteen seconds, but the streaming module, the one used to listen to music from services like Tidal and Spotify, rises in about half a minute.

Connector noise

The more time we spent with MyCast 7, the more obvious it became to us that Advance Paris is very familiar with the issue of high-quality sound, and is still in demand in the world of mobile applications and "information" technologies. Namely, the acoustic aspect of MyCast 7 is excellent, both in terms of everything this device offers and the general sound quality.

MyCast 7 has two optical (TOSLINK) and coaxial digital inputs, two analog RCA inputs, and a phono (phono) input, which, with the help of a switch, can be converted into a third AUX input. 

At the back, we also find RCA output for a subwoofer, analog RCA output (can be fixed or variable, so MyCast 7 can also work as a preamp), LAN connector, wireless antenna, FM / DAB antenna connector, service USB port, and speaker terminals. 

Another "entrance," if we may call it that, was located in front. Behind the plastic doors is a CD player, and below it are arranged controls for playing and transferring songs.

On the front, there is a 6.35 mm headphone jack, power button, USB port for connecting sticks and discs with music (MP3, FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AAC), and a volume wheel, which you can press like a button and use to navigate through system menus and perform device configuration. 

Of course, it is smarter to use the remote control, because it will make it easier to go through options such as high-frequency controls, bass, channel balance, and loudness.

Supported services

Advance's mobile app is used to play music from supported services, such as Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer, Amazon Music, TuneIn, iHeartRadio, vTuner, QQMusic, Napster, and Spotify, the latter using Spotify Connect, exclusively from Spotify. 

Apple Music and YouTube Music are not on the list of supported services, although the salvation for users of Apple services comes in the form of integrated support for AirPlay 2.

Within the app, you can also access music you share within a local area network (DLNA / UPnP), but also play songs from your mobile phone. In case you have more than one Advance device, you will be able to connect them to the multiroom system in the application. We only had one, so we didn't have a chance to try that functionality.

The built-in Bluetooth module is limited to the archaic SBC codec, so it works inline order so that the list of specifications has one more item.

In addition to being a network streamer, FM / DAB radio player, turntable preamp, local network music player and USB media, and CD player, the MyCast 7 is also a digital-to-analog converter and power amplifier. 

The Wolfson's built-in DAC, whose specific model and technical specifications are not revealed by Advance Paris, is accompanied by an A / B class amplifier, which delivers 45 W of power per channel. Interestingly, Advance’s MyConnect 60, which MyCast 7 inherits almost directly, had 70 watts of power per channel. 

However, in practice, MyCast 7 offered us an acoustic performance that reminded us a lot of its predecessor, especially in terms of the smoothness of the overall presentation and the ease with which it powered the tested speakers (KEF Q550, Dali Opticon 2).

However, acoustic skills nowadays are not enough to recommend a compact all-in-one music system, primarily because their customers hold even more to their functionality and ease of everyday use. This last aspect is where MyCast 7 coughs and fails to justify the $ 5,500 price tag, despite all the other features.