Review and Measurements of Chromecast Audio Digital Output

[Glasvegas]

On their app? Im not sure they are MQA only, I think many new releases are MQA but the unfolded file will be 44.1/ 48 and prob 24 bit if no MQA capability in your kit/ software.

MY streamer wont do Tidal MQA and it shows all Tidal as 16/44.1 or 16/48 I think

Yes, a lot of new tracks are MQA only on Tidal. I think I've read that MQA strips off at least one bit during the encoding process. So, that's why I'm not exactly sure what I'm getting if a can't just select a standard 16/44.1 track.

Where both are available, I have tried comparing. As you can guess - absolutely no difference. So why worry about it?

 

[Jimbob54]

Yes, a lot of new tracks are MQA only on Tidal. I think I've read that MQA strips off at least one bit during the encoding process. So, that's why I'm not exactly sure what I'm getting if a can't just select a standard 16/44.1 track.

Where both are available, I have tried comparing. As you can guess - absolutely no difference. So why worry about it?

Yeah- I'm not anti MQA - never had an issue. I just dont think it needs to exist, as Qobuz and Amazon HD show .

 

[Robin L]

I'd like to see a review of the audio output of Roku devices, as we've got two in this house and I suspect there's more of these streaming devices than any other. Mine is now hooked up to a Yamaha AV receiver with a decent headphone jack. I've got no problems with the sound, and am curious how they stack up to other DACS & dongles.

 

[Glasvegas]

I'd like to see a review of the audio output of Roku devices, as we've got two in this house and I suspect there's more of these streaming devices than any other. Mine is now hooked up to a Yamaha AV receiver with a decent headphone jack. I've got no problems with the sound, and am curious how they stack up to other DACS & dongles.

More Rokus than Chromecast Audios? No way!!!

 

[Jimbob54]

More Rokus than Chromecast Audios? No way!!!

Definitely! Now TV in the UK use Roku boxes for a start- as do I suspect many others

 

[Glasvegas]

Definitely! Now TV in the UK use Roku boxes for a start- as do I suspect many others

Hey, there's a member on this forum (BDWoody) who has about 50 CCAs networked in his house. You cannot compete with that!

 

[Jimbob54]

Hey, there's a member on this forum (BDWoody) who has about 50 CCAs networked in his house. You cannot compete with that!

@BDWoody does indeed have lots. I think I bought any not in his possession. Think I have 5

 

[Shoaibexpert]

Yes, I got the Digione Player. It acts as a transport to your DAC. I got mine pre-loaded with Volumio, which has native Tidal support. I subscribe to Tidal Hi-Fi, so hi rez and Masters come through via ethernet directly to the player then DAC at native resolution. My iPad acts as the remote.
There is no MQA support, but that may not be a bad thing dependiing on where you land on that debate.
It’s an interesting device and approach, you can check out their website and a few reviews on the interwebs in addition to Amir’s.

Hi, was reading this now as an exploring options to cast my Tidal HiFi music wirelessly to my DAC...I guess I need a streamer or a transport that appears on my Tidal app on my Android phone (as an end point) so I can use my native Tidal app on the phone to play /cast music to that transport/streamer end point which would then be connected to my DAC through COAX or Optical to play the music. If you're still available to answer this: Does Volumio in Raspberry Pi + Allo Digione allow the above setup? You mention that Volumio is compatible with Tidal...does it allow one to use the native Tidal app to stream/cast music as in the setup above? I know I can use Roon...but I find it expensive and unnecessary in my setup... appreciate the help!

 

[Glasvegas]

Hi, was reading this now as an exploring options to cast my Tidal HiFi music wirelessly to my DAC...I guess I need a streamer or a transport that appears on my Tidal app on my Android phone (as an end point) so I can use my native Tidal app on the phone to play /cast music to that transport/streamer end point which would then be connected to my DAC through COAX or Optical to play the music. If you're still available to answer this: Does Volumio in Raspberry Pi + Allo Digione allow the above setup? You mention that Volumio is compatible with Tidal...does it allow one to use the native Tidal app to stream/cast music as in the setup above? I know I can use Roon...but I find it expensive and unnecessary in my setup... appreciate the help!

As far as I know, the only way you can “cast” from the native Tidal app on your Android phone is to a Chromecast Audio, which you can then connect to your DAC through Optical.

Volumio on Raspberry Pi will not allow you to cast from the native Tidal app. It will allow you to stream Tidal from the Volumio UI. However, you will need to pay a subscription to MyVolumio to get this enabled. Also, I can tell you from experience that Tidal integration with Volumio is not good. Just check the MyVolumio forum. Some users describe it as “terrible”.

With Volumio on the Pi, and something like BubbleUPnP on your phone, you could stream/cast Tidal from the BubbleUPnP UI. Again, you would not be casting from the native Tidal app.

In my opinion, the best user experience is to cast from the native Tidal app to a Chromecast, especially if you use Tidal playlists a lot. Note, if it’s important to you, Chromecast does not support “gapless”.

 

[Shoaibexpert]

As far as I know, the only way you can “cast” from the native Tidal app on your Android phone is to a Chromecast Audio, which you can then connect to your DAC through Optical.

Volumio on Raspberry Pi will not allow you to cast from the native Tidal app. It will allow you to stream Tidal from the Volumio UI. However, you will need to pay a subscription to MyVolumio to get this enabled. Also, I can tell you from experience that Tidal integration with Volumio is not good. Just check the MyVolumio forum. Some users describe it as “terrible”.

With Volumio on the Pi, and something like BubbleUPnP on your phone, you could stream/cast Tidal from the BubbleUPnP UI. Again, you would not be casting from the native Tidal app.

In my opinion, the best user experience is to cast from the native Tidal app to a Chromecast, especially if you use Tidal playlists a lot. Note, if it’s important to you, Chromecast does not support “gapless”.

Thanks. What about sound quality? I mean people say coax is better than optical from Chromecast...which was why I thought the RPi plus the Allo HAT would be a good option. But using Upnp or non Tidal app isn't an option as I use Radio feature a lot. On the other hand, Roon allows Tidal streaming to any of these devices with EQ. It's seriously expensive otherwise it would have been a good option. Any idea how people can cast with EQ? Also, any experience with SQ of Chromecast Audio? Thanks

 

[Julf]

Thanks. What about sound quality? I mean people say coax is better than optical from Chromecast...which was why I thought the RPi plus the Allo HAT would be a good option. But using Upnp or non Tidal app isn't an option as I use Radio feature a lot. On the other hand, Roon allows Tidal streaming to any of these devices with EQ. It's seriously expensive otherwise it would have been a good option. Any idea how people can cast with EQ? Also, any experience with SQ of Chromecast Audio? Thanks

Archimago: Google Chromecast Audio - Part II: Digital Output

 

[Glasvegas]

Thanks. What about sound quality? I mean people say coax is better than optical from Chromecast...which was why I thought the RPi plus the Allo HAT would be a good option. But using Upnp or non Tidal app isn't an option as I use Radio feature a lot. On the other hand, Roon allows Tidal streaming to any of these devices with EQ. It's seriously expensive otherwise it would have been a good option. Any idea how people can cast with EQ? Also, any experience with SQ of Chromecast Audio? Thanks

Julf has provided a good link. Also, just read page 1 of this thread. Chromecast Audio is bit perfect with negligible jitter when fed via optical into a good DAC. As for coax v optical, I have no idea. Maybe someone else can comment.

If using Upnp or non Tidal app isn’t an option, then Chromecast is your ONLY option! Unless another member knows different.

There are some DAC/Streamers with built in Chromecast e.g from Cambridge, Primare, Naim. They get glowing reviews elsewhere FWIW.

I‘ve tried Roon and it falls well short of using the Tidal app, if Tidal is your only music source.

There are other solutions for EQ. Feed the Chromecast to a miniDSP. Some people use the Chromecast with an RME ADI-2 DAC. I’ve never tried EQ, so can’t really advise on that.

 

[Jimbob54]

As far as I know, the only way you can “cast” from the native Tidal app on your Android phone is to a Chromecast Audio, which you can then connect to your DAC through Optical.

Volumio on Raspberry Pi will not allow you to cast from the native Tidal app. It will allow you to stream Tidal from the Volumio UI. However, you will need to pay a subscription to MyVolumio to get this enabled. Also, I can tell you from experience that Tidal integration with Volumio is not good. Just check the MyVolumio forum. Some users describe it as “terrible”.

With Volumio on the Pi, and something like BubbleUPnP on your phone, you could stream/cast Tidal from the BubbleUPnP UI. Again, you would not be casting from the native Tidal app.

In my opinion, the best user experience is to cast from the native Tidal app to a Chromecast, especially if you use Tidal playlists a lot. Note, if it’s important to you, Chromecast does not support “gapless”.

Incorrect. If we are talking about casting as the thing Google has called streaming (as in you need your device/ app to be "cast" certified) then you can cast from whichever app on your phone to any "cast" certified device. TV, many wireless speakers , CCA, ordinary chromecast, streamers (my cambridge audio CXNV2 for eg has cast abilities), I believe Blusound devices etc etc .

What the CCA has that makes it fairly unique is a digital (optical) output- so you can bypass its own internal DAC and feed the "casted" signal bit perfect to any device with an optical in (ie , most DACS) .

So, I can "cast" from the Tidal native app to any number of devices in my home. However, the CCA is the only device that I have that can pass that bit perfect signal on to a DAC. TV, my streamer etc all resample or cant handle 24/96.

 

[Glasvegas]

Incorrect. If we are talking about casting as the thing Google has called streaming (as in you need your device/ app to be "cast" certified) then you can cast from whichever app on your phone to any "cast" certified device. TV, many wireless speakers , CCA, ordinary chromecast, streamers (my cambridge audio CXNV2 for eg has cast abilities), I believe Blusound devices etc etc .

What the CCA has that makes it fairly unique is a digital (optical) output- so you can bypass its own internal DAC and feed the "casted" signal bit perfect to any device with an optical in (ie , most DACS) .

So, I can "cast" from the Tidal native app to any number of devices in my home. However, the CCA is the only device that I have that can pass that bit perfect signal on to a DAC. TV, my streamer etc all resample or cant handle 24/96.

Thanks for the clarification, although, be fair, I did mention built in Chromecast in products by Cambridge etc. in my follow up post.

 

[Jimbob54]

Thanks for the clarification, although, be fair, I did mention built in Chromecast in products by Cambridge etc. in my follow up post.

Its a bloody minefield. The Cambridge tops out at 48khz via its internal cast feature yet it will take 192 via Roon networked, USB etc etc

 

[Glasvegas]

Its a bloody minefield. The Cambridge tops out at 48khz via its internal cast feature yet it will take 192 via Roon networked, USB etc etc

Is that just a problem with Cambridge's implementation of the "cast" feature? Maybe a future firmware upgrade will solve it.

 

[Jimbob54]

Is that just a problem with Cambridge's implementation of the "cast" feature? Maybe a future firmware upgrade will solve it.

Possibly. The device gets frequent updates yet the "cast" software bit doesn't

 

[Glasvegas]

Possibly. The device gets frequent updates yet the "cast" software bit doesn't

I've sometimes been tempted by the CXN V2 just to get everything in one box - but it's so big!! I'm sure they could fit a class D amp in there too.

 

[Jimbob54]

I've sometimes been tempted by the CXN V2 just to get everything in one box - but it's so big!! I'm sure they could fit a class D amp in there too.

It's a great box of tricks but yes, full width yet weighs nothing. Could definitely fit some amps in there, or at least a good headamp

 

[Glasvegas]

It's a great box of tricks but yes, full width yet weighs nothing. Could definitely fit some amps in there, or at least a good headamp

Watched Darko's review. He almost had me hooked until he mentioned that it made everything sound warm - but in a good way. Don't know if you agree with that assessment?