Devices that will accept a cast from Tidal.

[day7a1]

Forgive me if I'm using the term "cast" incorrectly. I think of it as controlling a device that will receive data over the internet independently. I'm trying to build a setup that doesn't need my computer involved and the Chromecast Audio looks great....

but..yeah....

It's not clear to me when I look at other devices, like the Sonos Connect, Yamaha DXC-50, Bose wireless system adapter, Echo Link, etc. that they will or will not take a cast. They appear to mostly take a Bluetooth data stream rather than start pulling data over WiFi (or ethernet, even better).

I do not need to play files. My CDs were stolen some time ago and I've been streaming ever since. I was an early Pandora adopter. Yes, it's been that long. I find Bluetooth streams to be problematic. They all seem to cut out for no reason on occasion.


I may just end up using the spare Surface Go that I already have to plug into a miniDSP SHD directly through USB, if that's possible, but I'd really like to cast from my desktop, phone, our said Go. I don't own a TV, so regular Chromecast won't work either.

Advice please, you all seem to know a lot about how the streaming devices work.

 

[BillG]

A Chromecast Audio will be just fine for your needs, and works with Tidal - it doesn't handle a compression scheme known as MQA, though. I wouldn't concern myself with it anyway for reasons I won't go into right now.

By the way, the word "casting" is used within Google’s ecosystem, but what you'll be doing with the Chromecast Audio is referred to as "streaming" everywhere else typically.

I wouldn't concern myself with purchasing a costlier streamer (what the Chromecast Audio is called by the industry) unless, of course, you just happen to like/need their features/form factor more. The Chromecast Audio has been performance measured here, and found to be more than adequate for most people's needs...

 

[day7a1]

Thanks! I see here on the forums that you take a lot of interest in the subject.

So from the perspective of the app (Tidal or Spotify, or maybe even YouTube music now that Play is being discontinued), do the streamers show up like the Chromecast does?

I'd like something more future proof. Even if I can still get the Chromecast audio at an inflated price, I'd rather not. Plus, I won't really be able to use it until January, at the earliest, so I'd have to either buy it and sit on it, or hope a replacement comes out.

And, I know about MQA, thanks though.

 

[day7a1]

I'd really like it if the miniDSP SHD was seen as a device, but it looks like you need to control it through it's IP, which is apparently not great.

 

[BDWoody]

Forgive me if I'm using the term "cast" incorrectly. I think of it as controlling a device that will receive data over the internet independently. I'm trying to build a setup that doesn't need my computer involved and the Chromecast Audio looks great....

but..yeah....

It's not clear to me when I look at other devices, like the Sonos Connect, Yamaha DXC-50, Bose wireless system adapter, Echo Link, etc. that they will or will not take a cast. They appear to mostly take a Bluetooth data stream rather than start pulling data over WiFi (or ethernet, even better).

I do not need to play files. My CDs were stolen some time ago and I've been streaming ever since. I was an early Pandora adopter. Yes, it's been that long. I find Bluetooth streams to be problematic. They all seem to cut out for no reason on occasion.


I may just end up using the spare Surface Go that I already have to plug into a miniDSP SHD directly through USB, if that's possible, but I'd really like to cast from my desktop, phone, our said Go. I don't own a TV, so regular Chromecast won't work either.

Advice please, you all seem to know a lot about how the streaming devices work.

You can plug a regular chromecast into any monitor with an HDMI port...Doesn't have to be a TV.

I'm also a big believer in the Chromecast Audio. Works flawlessly for me. I stocked up when I heard they were being discontinued.

 

[day7a1]

You can plug a regular chromecast into any monitor with an HDMI port...Doesn't have to be a TV.

Yeah, but how many monitors have you seen that output digital audio via Toslink or Coax SPDIF? Usually that's done by the computer itself so while I don't doubt there are some out there, I wouldn't expect it to be frequent. And I certainly don't have one.

I'm trying to have a set up so that I don't need to have my computer near my audio system.

I mean, I could easily get music to the SHD, but I'm honestly just flabbergasted that it seems this hard to "cast" as I defined it above. Most of the streamers I read the manuals for use a separate app where Tidal is inside that app, instead of the other way around where the Tidal app will control the device a la Chromecast. That seems problematic to me, but maybe it's fine?

 

[BillG]

I'd like something more future proof.

Google’s streaming ecosystem isn't going away any time soon, supports all of most popular audio formats (excluding DSD and MQA, neither I'd concern myself with) and is arguably the easiest to use and most widely supported streaming protocol, second only to Apple's AirPlay, and another standard called DLNA which can be a bit finicky to utilize.

So from the perspective of the app (Tidal or Spotify, or maybe even YouTube music now that Play is being discontinued), do the streamers show up like the Chromecast does?

No, which is why I wrote about its ease of use.

As for Chromecast Audio itself, a number of audio products now have Chromecast built-in. So, if you can't find one - they're still widely available - there are streamers such as the following that support the protocol:

https://www.amazon.com/Harman-Kardon-Wireless-Stereo-Receiver/dp/B078N87HP8

By the way, it's been suggested by industry insiders that the forthcoming Google Nest Mini is in fact a Chromecast Audio replacement since it sports a 3.5mm port - we'll have to wait a bit longer before we find out if it's pulling double duty as an optical output as on the Chromecast Audio, though:

https://9to5google.com/2019/08/21/chromecast-audio-nest-mini-replacement/

I see here on the forums that you take a lot of interest in the subject.

Yes, I'm the moderator of a Facebook group dedicated to audio streaming...

 

[day7a1]

No, which is why I wrote about its ease of use.

It's good to have this confirmed. I'll stop driving myself crazy now. I'll just wait. If they have it when I need it, they have it. If they don't, I'll just use my Surface Go and some remote desktop software.

I meant "futureproof" as in not buying a discontinued device for double its original price and 5x its lowest. Chromecast is here to stay, even more so if it's the only tech that does that...which still seems very strange.

So, how would a Echo Input, Echo Link, and Tidal work? Would you have to control it through voice only? Or really any other "Alexa" devices like the Yamah DXC-50? Google seems to keep a much tighter lid on hardware implementation.

Any way to get an invite to that FB group?

 

[day7a1]

Ah...here we go...

https://www.google.com/chromecast/built-in/audio/

 

[BillG]

Any way to get an invite to that FB group?

I'll send it to you privately. We've had a huge influx of people joining recently and it's putting a temporary stress on the administration team until we can figure something out...

 

[BillG]

Ah...here we go...

https://www.google.com/chromecast/built-in/audio/

There are some integrated amplifiers that now include it as well, and rumors of some other streaming DACs...

https://nadelectronics.com/product/c-338-classic-digital-dac-amplifier/

 

[day7a1]

Thanks for the invite....the price of that NAD is much, much lower than I expected....

 

[BillG]

So from the perspective of the app (Tidal or Spotify, or maybe even YouTube music now that Play is being discontinued), do the streamers show up like the Chromecast does?

Here's an example of how dts Play-Fi handles access to various music services - this is within the Klipsch Stream application on Android. It's not pretty as the application is not up to contemporary design standards:



While some people may like the approach of encapsulating the services all within one application, it leaves one at the mercy of a single vendor in terms of updates.

Yamaha's MusicCast ecosystem uses a similar approach as Play-Fi, albeit with a nicer looking control application:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yamaha.av.musiccastcontroller

And here's their streaming preamp - they've an amplifier in the series as well that's been measured here on ASR:


https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/wireless_streaming_amplifiers/wxc-50/index.html

 

[day7a1]

Yamaha's MusicCast ecosystem uses a similar approach as Play-Fi, albeit with a nicer looking control application:

I MAY be interested in the multi-room playback, but it looks like Google can do that as well?

Also, I'd really like to know how the Amazon devices work. I understand you can set it up to say "Alexa, play The Shark Song Do De Do on Tidal", but I don't know if that works through wifi or bluetooth or if you can just play it from an app. Seems weird that you can voice control it but not app control it, but I guess if you're going for a full voice control system why would you program for app control at all?

 

[BillG]

I MAY be interested in the multi-room playback, but it looks like Google can do that as well?

Also, I'd really like to know how the Amazon devices work.

Yeah, Google Cast can do multi-room. It can do voice control also via one's smartphone/tablet or a Google Home device:

https://www.the-ambient.com/how-to/set-up-multi-room-audio-google-assistant-464


As for Amazon's ecosystem, I can't discuss that as I've no experience with it.

 

[somebodyelse]

Another option is the Squeezebox / LogitechMediaServer approach. You can run the server part on a Raspberry Pi with PiCorePlayer, among other options. The Tidal plugin requires a (free I think) account at mysqueezebox.com too. Don't ask me for details as I've not used Tidal with it - the squeezebox forum should tell you what you need to know. Control is via the squeezebox web interface, or via apps such as iPeng, Squeezer etc. on phones. It'll do multi-room too.

You can also use BubbleUPnPServer for streaming Tidal to UPnP endpoints. The example here uses Volumio on the Pi as the endpoint and installs BubbleUPnPServer elsewhere, but it's possible to install it directly on the Pi. Moode can apparently stream from Tidal directly, so would be easier to set up. In either case you use a UPnP control point app to control them - the first link has examples for iOS and Android.

 

[day7a1]

Control is via the squeezebox web interface

This is specifically what I'm trying to avoid.

However, using my MS Surface Go as a streaming server through Bubble seems like a nice option. I'm not sure if it will be a nicer option than just using a remote desktop app, but it's certainly worth a try for both of them.

The Pi may be cheaper, but I already have a Go that I have no use for (and looking at an equivalent sized screen, probably isn't really even more expensive.)

 

[BillG]

streaming server through Bubble seems

If you like to try something a bit more attractive and user-friendly than BubbleUPnP, I would highly recommend the following - the freeware version is more than adequate for home usage, as it's only lacking in remote access from outside one's LAN and the number of connected devices is limited to seven:

https://emby.media/

Here's a screen shot of the Android client - I'm using it to stream to a Chromecast Audio at the moment, but it supports DLNA as well:



And here are some screen shots of the the server dashboard from within the Android client - the actual server is running on my Windows desktop, though, but it's still configurable remotely via the app:




P. S. If you decide you like it, but wish to preview the premium features before committing, a monthly license can be purchased for $5 USD.

 

[day7a1]

the number of connected devices is limited to seven:

Oh, the humanity! Greedy greedy basterds!



To think that someone with 8 devices that needed to be connected would quibble over $60 a year (or $119 forever).

That looks pretty nice. BTW, how do you get your network traffic up in the taskbar like that?

 

[Dj7675]

If you are just doing cd quality..
Minidsp SHD via airplay
Sonos