question about chromecast vs other streamers

[hybridauth_Facebook_1501104106582061]

I wanted to add wireless audio streaming capability to my system and, for budget reasosn, opted to get a chromecast audio for a very reasonable price (these things are very affordable!). I'm satisfied with the functionality and ease of use with my android phone, but I'm thinking that at that size and price, the onboard DAC can't be the best option out there.

I'm just wondering how much I'd have to spend to get a noticeable upgrade in sound quality and if you guys had any recommendations that wouldn't break the bank.

Thanks

 

[muljao]

I wanted to add wireless audio streaming capability to my system and, for budget reasosn, opted to get a chromecast audio for a very reasonable price (these things are very affordable!). I'm satisfied with the functionality and ease of use with my android phone, but I'm thinking that at that size and price, the onboard DAC can't be the best option out there.

I'm just wondering how much I'd have to spend to get a noticeable upgrade in sound quality and if you guys had any recommendations that wouldn't break the bank.

Thanks

 
 

What are you plugged into with the CCA?

 

[Dave_]

I wanted to add wireless audio streaming capability to my system and, for budget reasosn, opted to get a chromecast audio for a very reasonable price (these things are very affordable!). I'm satisfied with the functionality and ease of use with my android phone, but I'm thinking that at that size and price, the onboard DAC can't be the best option out there.

There's not much wrong with the CCAs DAC.

http://archimago.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html?m=1

Personally I'd save your money...

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_1501104106582061]

The CCA is plugged into my amp (through a 3.5mm to RCA adapter) which plays through my speakers.

There's nothing wrong wtih the current setup, I'm just wondering if there's any sound quality improvement to be found with a higher end streamer, and how much it would cost for that improvement to be noticeable.

 

[insider9]

The CCA is plugged into my amp (through a 3.5mm to RCA adapter) which plays through my speakers.

There's nothing wrong wtih the current setup, I'm just wondering if there's any sound quality improvement to be found with a higher end streamer, and how much it would cost for that improvement to be noticeable.

I'm guessing the question was more in regards what is the rest of your setup. What amp is it and what speakers?

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_1501104106582061]

amp: Marantz PM6010 OSE

speakers: Klipsch RF52

 

[nopiano]

I'm happy with mine as it is, but I'd guess you'd need something like a Chord Mojo as a minimum to be clearly better. That's over ten times the price of the whole Chromecast! And it's really meant for headphones, though you can use it as a line device.

I see you aren't the first to ask!

https://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/chromecast-audio-external-dac

 

[jonathanRD]

I was using the CCA via a 3.5mm to RCA cable into my old Rega Brio amp. There is no doubt that it is very good value for money, but the sound did not compare to using my CD player.

My new amp has a dac module, but I could not find a suitable cable to connect the CCA digitally to the coax or usb type B connections on the dac module. I tried tirelessly to find a solution and failed, so if there is one, please don't tell me *fool*

I choose a Sonos Connect as I already had other Sonos devices, but there are other options probably for less money. My Sonos Connect is fed it's signal via my wired network rather than the wireless CCA method. But for whatever reason, the sound quality I get now streaming (Sonos Connect/Spotify) is indistinguishable from my cd player in most cases. My CD player and dac module share a similar dac, so sound the same, but in my experience it's much better than using the CCA's dac.

 

[Vladimir]

I wanted to add wireless audio streaming capability to my system and, for budget reasosn, opted to get a chromecast audio for a very reasonable price (these things are very affordable!). I'm satisfied with the functionality and ease of use with my android phone, but I'm thinking that at that size and price, the onboard DAC can't be the best option out there.

There's not much wrong with the CCAs DAC.

http://archimago.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html?m=1

Personally I'd save your money...

+1

Noticable for measuring instruments, not human hearing. Even if you placeebo yourself into hearing improvement, it will soon wear off.

 

[hybridauth_Facebook_1501104106582061]

There's not much wrong with the CCAs DAC.

http://archimago.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html?m=1

Personally I'd save your money...

Thanks for linking that article!

Part 1 about the CCA's DAC, which you linked, was a great read. I also read part 2 where he examines the option of using the 35mm jack that doubles as TosLink to plug it into his DAC... I had no idea that it had that functionality! I think I'll try hook it up to my DAC to see if there's a difference before buying anything.

 

[Dave_]

My new amp has a dac module, but I could not find a suitable cable to connect the CCA digitally to the coax or usb type B connections on the dac module. I tried tirelessly to find a solution and failed, so if there is one, please don't tell me *fool*

Of course you were never going to find a simple cable to do the job, but optical to digital coaxial converters are readily available.

My Sonos Connect is fed it's signal via my wired network rather than the wireless CCA method.

Google do actually sell an Ethernet adapter for Chromecasts (its included with the Chromecast Ultra, for obvious reasons)

http://chromecast ethernet adapter

 

[jonathanRD]

My new amp has a dac module, but I could not find a suitable cable to connect the CCA digitally to the coax or usb type B connections on the dac module. I tried tirelessly to find a solution and failed, so if there is one, please don't tell me *fool*

Of course you were never going to find a simple cable to do the job, but optical to digital coaxial converters are readily available.

Cheers Dave, pity you didn't see my post asking for advice on this back a few months ago. I'll have a proper look tomorrow, although I still get thoroughly confused with optical, digital, toslink etc *scratch_one-s_head*

 

[Dave_]

Couple of examples

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-digital-optical-to-digital-phono-adapter-a17ny

 

[luckylion100]

writing off my CCA I've returned to give it another shot. When my previously owned Yamaha WXC-50 imploded I turned to the CCA as a temporary stop gap. I plugged it directly into my active speakers and was less than impressed, I then went the Raspberry Pi3 route. However due to my mobile phone being pretty much bog standard and with my bluetooth connection when linked to my Oppo HA-1 constantly dropping out I decided to plug the CCA back in using the linked cable below and now have a very reasonable sounding and stable solution if I want to stream directly from my phone. Connecting to my NAS though is far more troublesome, many files refusing to load on the CCA. I need to read up further on this. I use the lead below for connection purposes between the CCA and Oppo's optical input.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00T8HWVEY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[chris_bates1974]

For those of us swallowed up by the i devices, I've been blown away by the AEX. Yes it costs more than the chroemcast, and I'm not sure it does exactly the same thing, but streamed music from AppleMusic through my set-up sounds just as good as CD from my Cyrus player.

Just goes to show we don't always need to spend a fortune to get great results.

 

[muljao]

I prefer the sound from the DAC on my marantz pm6006 than the Chromecast plugged in via analogue, but I think that is because I am used to the marantz sound.

I've heard the Chromecast on a Pioneer a400 and it's great, especially when streaming flac

 

[drummerman]

amp: Marantz PM6010 OSE

speakers: Klipsch RF52

No offense but I'd spend the money elsewhere. The CCA's DAC is fine. I use mine through a separate Hifimediy DAC and it's still fine 🙂

 

[dakchi]

I was using the CCA via a 3.5mm to RCA cable into my old Rega Brio amp. There is no doubt that it is very good value for money, but the sound did not compare to using my CD player.

My new amp has a dac module, but I could not find a suitable cable to connect the CCA digitally to the coax or usb type B connections on the dac module. I tried tirelessly to find a solution and failed, so if there is one, please don't tell me *fool*

I choose a Sonos Connect as I already had other Sonos devices, but there are other options probably for less money. My Sonos Connect is fed it's signal via my wired network rather than the wireless CCA method. But for whatever reason, the sound quality I get now streaming (Sonos Connect/Spotify) is indistinguishable from my cd player in most cases. My CD player and dac module share a similar dac, so sound the same, but in my experience it's much better than using the CCA's dac.

I am connecting my CCA to the optical input of my amp with a mini-toslink to toslink cable and it works very well