Rating: 
Summary: best audio system for a notebook/desktop
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Software works fine on XP
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Doesn't work with XP, at least not out of the box
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't work with XP, at least not out of the box
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: The truth but not the whole truth
Review: I get extremely angry when companies tout their receiver as having the ability to play mp3s from your computer through the receiver. This is true, however, they don't remind you that you have a sound card on your pc that can do the same thing for $6. Here's how, go to radiohshack and get an adapter that has rca cables on one end (the red and white jacks that you use to get your cd player to the receiver) and a head phone jack on the other (just like the headphones jack you put into your walkman). Plug the headphone jack into your soundcard in the back of the PC, plug the rca jacks into the receiver (auxilery for example). Select auxilery from you receiver and you get whatever sound is coming out of your pc. Standard length is 6ft. You can either put a receiver (I use an old one that wasn't being used) near the PC ... OR you can get extensions that will reach your nearest receiver. Note: extending more than 20ft may diminish the sound - it depends on what else is going on in the room (electrically speaking) - the cables are not sheiled well. If you can get by with less than 6ft, the sound will be perfect. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: The truth but not the whole truth
Review: I get extremely angry when companies tout their receiver as having the ability to play mp3s from your computer through the receiver. This is true, however, they don't remind you that you have a sound card on your pc that can do the same thing for $6. Here's how, go to radiohshack and get an adapter that has rca cables on one end (the red and white jacks that you use to get your cd player to the receiver) and a head phone jack on the other (just like the headphones jack you put into your walkman). Plug the headphone jack into your soundcard in the back of the PC, plug the rca jacks into the receiver (auxilery for example). Select auxilery from you receiver and you get whatever sound is coming out of your pc. Standard length is 6ft. You can either put a receiver (I use an old one that wasn't being used) near the PC ... OR you can get extensions that will reach your nearest receiver. Note: extending more than 20ft may diminish the sound - it depends on what else is going on in the room (electrically speaking) - the cables are not sheiled well. If you can get by with less than 6ft, the sound will be perfect.
Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Works on my XP PC. Using it to tie multiple PC together.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: It does work with Windows XP!!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Works FLAWLESSLY
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: good idea, compromised to some extent by Windows
Review: 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)
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