This is a follow up to my review and measurements of Google Chromecast Audio's digital performance. As mentioned there, the Chromecast audio is a streaming device with integrated DAC. In the other review, I measured its Toslink digital output for usage with an external DAC. Here, I will be evaluating its analog output performance in case you want to forego the external DAC.
As noted there, the casting functionality of Chrome browser is poor and not bit-exact. So for this testing, I used Roon to play the test files and cast them to Chromecast Audio. This allows bit-perfect functionality so that we can see the performance of the hardware in best light.
The measurements are not extensive as with the digital output because my audio analyzer can't control the Chromecast Audio. But there is enough here to get a good idea of how well it does.
Measurements
As usual, let's feed the unit a 1 kHz tone at 44.1 kHz, 0 dBFS (full amplitude) and see how she does:
We have near nominal output of 1.973 volts which is nice. This means there should be no problem driving your amplifiers to their maximum power.
Distortion is respectable resulting in SINAD (signal over power of distortion and noise) of 91 dB. Here is how that ranks among recently reviewed gear:
It is well short of even cheap desktop DACs like Topping D10 but not bad either.
Dynamic Range which is a test of playing (almost) nothing versus maximum signal follows the same suit:
Jitter and noise is also uneventful:
Yes, we have some jitter spikes around our main tone (symmetrical spikes) but because their levels are very low and so is their frequency, they will most likely be perceptually masked. There is some mains leakage coming from the switching power supply I am using to drive it but again, levels are pretty low at -110 dB and lower.
Conclusions
There appears to be nothing broken in the design of the Chromecast Audio DAC as long as you use the right software to drive it. While performance falls in the bottom third tier of tested audio products, it gets there without any drama or obvious faults.
For $35, you get a DAC and streaming functionality built it. As such, the Google Chromecast Audio easily gets my recommendation!
Seeing how you can improve its performance anytime with the use of a good DAC, it is hard to go wrong. You get to put your computer in a different place than your audio system and then stream what you want using Chromecast Audio. With a system like Roon where you can have multiple concurrent playback threads, this would make for an excellent secondary use/room.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
If you like this review, please consider donating using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though PayPal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
As noted there, the casting functionality of Chrome browser is poor and not bit-exact. So for this testing, I used Roon to play the test files and cast them to Chromecast Audio. This allows bit-perfect functionality so that we can see the performance of the hardware in best light.
The measurements are not extensive as with the digital output because my audio analyzer can't control the Chromecast Audio. But there is enough here to get a good idea of how well it does.
Measurements
As usual, let's feed the unit a 1 kHz tone at 44.1 kHz, 0 dBFS (full amplitude) and see how she does:
We have near nominal output of 1.973 volts which is nice. This means there should be no problem driving your amplifiers to their maximum power.
Distortion is respectable resulting in SINAD (signal over power of distortion and noise) of 91 dB. Here is how that ranks among recently reviewed gear:
It is well short of even cheap desktop DACs like Topping D10 but not bad either.
Dynamic Range which is a test of playing (almost) nothing versus maximum signal follows the same suit:
Jitter and noise is also uneventful:
Yes, we have some jitter spikes around our main tone (symmetrical spikes) but because their levels are very low and so is their frequency, they will most likely be perceptually masked. There is some mains leakage coming from the switching power supply I am using to drive it but again, levels are pretty low at -110 dB and lower.
Conclusions
There appears to be nothing broken in the design of the Chromecast Audio DAC as long as you use the right software to drive it. While performance falls in the bottom third tier of tested audio products, it gets there without any drama or obvious faults.
For $35, you get a DAC and streaming functionality built it. As such, the Google Chromecast Audio easily gets my recommendation!
Seeing how you can improve its performance anytime with the use of a good DAC, it is hard to go wrong. You get to put your computer in a different place than your audio system and then stream what you want using Chromecast Audio. With a system like Roon where you can have multiple concurrent playback threads, this would make for an excellent secondary use/room.
-------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
If you like this review, please consider donating using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though PayPal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
I am using another switching one.
