Good way to stream Amazon Music HD to DAC

[abdo123]

If you deploy Bubble UPNP app (android), and run on both phones, yes I believe so. Roon will do similar. Will be others

how do you get Amazon HD on Roon?

 

[BDWoody]

The Chromecast Audio is a great device for rejuvenating and old stereo with some streaming smarts but I would never recommend it to someone who has a dedicated DAC because it's internal clock is not good and so the digital stream you get out of it is super jittery so the results are not good even for CD quality audio.

Works perfectly for me.
Most modern DAC's handle jitter just fine, and I've never had a stutter or hiccup, in many years, in 7 systems currently.

Have you had a specific problem with using one in this way, or is it just what you understand to be the case?

 

[abdo123]

I think the problem with using Chromcast or Airplay is honestly the lack of DSP.

Room correction is way more important imo, which is why stuff like Roon and Volumio (if you’re committed) are really the way to go.

But Amazon HD is being more closed than all of Apple’s eco system right now.

 

[BDWoody]

I think the problem with using Chromcast or Airplay is honestly the lack of DSP.
.

I use Roon, so I get that level of DSP with the CCA.

 

[abdo123]

I use Roon, so I get that level of DSP with the CCA.

Why not just use Raspberry Pi (s) as Roon endpoints then?

 

[BDWoody]

Why not just use Raspberry Pi (s) as Roon endpoints then?

Because the CCA's were $15 each (at the end), and do everything I need. Why would I want a bunch of Rpi's? Could they do anything I would find useful?

Why don't pi people just use CCA's is my question.

The 24/96 'limitation' isn't any kind of limitation to me. Other than that...?

 

[dezfowler]

Works perfectly for me.
Most modern DAC's handle jitter just fine, and I've never had a stutter or hiccup, in many years, in 7 systems currently.

Have you had a specific problem with using one in this way, or is it just what you understand to be the case?

Have A/B it with same source FLAC files into the same DAC - it's night and day. I think if you have a DAC that re-clocks the input you'd be okay and admittedly mine is not a modern DAC and it doesn't do that. I'm not sure what percentage of DACs these days do that routinely.

 

[BDWoody]

Have A/B it with same source FLAC files into the same DAC - it's night and day. I think if you have a DAC that re-clocks the input you'd be okay and admittedly mine is not a modern DAC and it doesn't do that. I'm not sure what percentage of DACs these days do that routinely.

What was the other source? When you say the difference was night and day, do you mean there was a lot of noise, or it was too quiet, or what exactly? Comparisons can be tricky, but an older DAC without very good jitter handling could certainly have issues. I think it's the rare DAC these days that can't handle the CCA.

 

[abdo123]

Because the CCA's were $15 each (at the end), and do everything I need. Why would I want a bunch of Rpi's? Could they do anything I would find useful?

Why don't pi people just use CCA's is my question.

The 24/96 'limitation' isn't any kind of limitation to me. Other than that...?

The chromcast audio is a discontinued product, when you purchase a used one it’s inherently a gamble.

So it’s not something i would recommend for people who are interested in using Roon since the Pi is very cheap as well.

 

[Sukie]

Because the CCA's were $15 each (at the end), and do everything I need. Why would I want a bunch of Rpi's? Could they do anything I would find useful?

Why don't pi people just use CCA's is my question.

The 24/96 'limitation' isn't any kind of limitation to me. Other than that...?

Gapless playback is useful.

Different software options are also useful.

I run one of my RPis with a D10s and that doesn't have an optical input.

 

[dezfowler]

What was the other source? When you say the difference was night and day, do you mean there was a lot of noise, or it was too quiet, or what exactly? Comparisons can be tricky, but an older DAC without very good jitter handling could certainly have issues. I think it's the rare DAC these days that can't handle the CCA.

Several other sources... optical out of a TV, optical out of a HifiBerry Digi+, USB from phone, USB from laptop. The Chromecast was similar to the optical from the TV and USB from the phone. Digi+ and the laptop USB were on a par with each other and vastly better.

Better in terms of clarity, accuracy, stereo separation, etc. Chromecast sounded muffled, no high-end on instruments, poorly controlled bass, difficulty pinpointing the different instruments in the mix and in the stereo image.

This is on a Beresford Caiman which is about 10 years old now. I'm quite interested to get hold of a newer DAC to give the Chromecast another go.

 

[BDWoody]

Gapless playback is useful.

Different software options are also useful.

I run one of my RPis with a D10s and that doesn't have an optical input.

You realize Roon is gapless through the CCA, right?

Not trying to be difficult (this time..honest...), but what would I need any software for? As an endpoint, it is accessible from pretty much anything I have, one way or another, and through their primary use as Roon endpoints, I'm still missing what I'm missing.

I have a Pi and hat and full setup somewhere...just haven't ever had a reason to even break it out. I bought it before I realized that my humble CCA could do everything I needed or even wanted, and do it as a lossless streamer (through Roon). After that, I never really thought about the Pi again.

I think Roon does so much integration of so many things so well, it's hard to find something quite like it. I'm not saying everything in it can't be duplicated one way or another, and for free, but it's just a very easy to use system. I think of my CCA's more as extensions of Roon, than I do as part of the chromecast ecosystem.

I think the risk of them becoming unsupported is unlikely enough that I'd simply buy another one on eBay if my cats chewed through one (after I ran out of my backups).

Obviously, this isn't a right/wrong thing...both of these are excellent solutions, and neither will sound any different than the other, but I think people overlook or underestimate how effective the CCA can be for the right application. Especially with Roon in the picture.

 

[Sukie]

You realize Roon is gapless through the CCA, right?

Not trying to be difficult (this time..honest...), but what would I need any software for? As an endpoint, it is accessible from pretty much anything I have, one way or another, and through their primary use as Roon endpoints, I'm still missing what I'm missing.

I have a Pi and hat and full setup somewhere...just haven't ever had a reason to even break it out. I bought it before I realized that my humble CCA could do everything I needed or even wanted, and do it as a lossless streamer (through Roon). After that, I never really thought about the Pi again.

I think Roon does so much integration of so many things so well, it's hard to find something quite like it. I'm not saying everything in it can't be duplicated one way or another, and for free, but it's just a very easy to use system. I think of my CCA's more as extensions of Roon, than I do as part of the chromecast ecosystem.

I think the risk of them becoming unsupported is unlikely enough that I'd simply buy another one on eBay if my cats chewed through one (after I ran out of my backups).

Obviously, this isn't a right/wrong thing...both of these are excellent solutions, and neither will sound any different than the other, but I think people overlook or underestimate how effective the CCA can be for the right application. Especially with Roon in the picture.

Roon is gapless, but I don't use Roon. RPi gives you gapless for free from multiple providers. That's what I mean by software flexibility.

I do agree though that the CCA is often overlooked.

 

[witchdoctor]

You can get a Paradigm PW Link at 50% off and will be able to stream Amazon HD in hi rez to your DAC AND be able to use ARC which is another benefit.
Let me know if you have questions.

 

[Glasvegas]

Several other sources... optical out of a TV, optical out of a HifiBerry Digi+, USB from phone, USB from laptop. The Chromecast was similar to the optical from the TV and USB from the phone. Digi+ and the laptop USB were on a par with each other and vastly better.

Better in terms of clarity, accuracy, stereo separation, etc. Chromecast sounded muffled, no high-end on instruments, poorly controlled bass, difficulty pinpointing the different instruments in the mix and in the stereo image.

This is on a Beresford Caiman which is about 10 years old now. I'm quite interested to get hold of a newer DAC to give the Chromecast another go.

I’m quoting directly from the ASR review of the CCA:

“Using a well-designed Dac like the Topping D50, there is no difference at all between Toslink from Chromecast or higher fidelity sources. All the jitter is filtered out resulting in the performance of the DAC itself being the limit.”

So, it might be a good idea to try a newer DAC.

 

[Poultrygeist]

From all that I've read the only Amazon device that supports the highest resolution content from AMHD is the Studio speaker. I tried the newest Fire Cube and the Link but they won't stream 24/192 so I returned them. I'm pleased with 24/196 Ultra content streaming from a hard wired Node 2i in my listening room but would love to see the album art and lyrics displayed on the big screen in the HT. The only choices I've found are Denon or Marantz AVR's with HEOS baked in.

 

[Jmudrick]

You can get a Paradigm PW Link at 50% off and will be able to stream Amazon HD in hi rez to your DAC AND be able to use ARC which is another benefit.
Let me know if you have questions.

I have two PW Links (and two CCA) and highly recommend, but worth noting they also lack gapless playback. So it's Spotify in the den and Audirvana in the listening room for opera.

 

[Glasvegas]

I have two PW Links (and two CCA) and highly recommend, but worth noting they also lack gapless playback. So it's Spotify in the den and Audirvana in the listening room for opera.

How is the DTS Play-Fi app?

 

[Jmudrick]

How is the DTS Play-Fi app?

Not great but mostly works fine for simple playback of Qobuz (Spotify Connect bypasses the app) . DLNA media streaming gets glitchy occasionally but mostly works ok with Serviio and Emby. .. The benefits of ARC though far outweigh minor complaints about the app.

 

[Glasvegas]

Not great but mostly works fine for simple playback of Qobuz (Spotify Connect bypasses the app) . DLNA media streaming gets glitchy occasionally but mostly works ok with Serviio and Emby. .. The benefits of ARC though far outweigh minor complaints about the app.

I'm probably in the minority on this forum, but I like any streaming app I use to be perfect.