Chromecast Audio

Lets you stream music via Wi-Fi to 3.5mm, RCA, and optical for $35.

https://www.google.com/chromecast/speakers/

 

Haven't they already. Heck, they are even in my pants!!!
But seriously. This little dongle looks good to me. I have a playfi device at the moment that is as big as my DC-1 DAC.

 

Devices like this show why your DAC should still have an SPDIF input and not just USB only. Something NwAvGuy argued against when he was working on the ODAC and made it USB only. As great as USB is, you need drivers and an environment to use it. For purpose made audio devices like DVD/Bluray drives and the Apple Airport Express, using USB is not really an option since it adds quite a bit of complexity and there is no guaranteed that a device will always be recognized. Meanwhile if your device can accept SPDIF and it is connected to a DAP with SPDIF, then it should always work.

 

I bought this little device last week and it runs like a champ via the optical out to my DAC. I too don't care much for the USB port. Its interesting to note that most of the audio purifier thingies like the Wyrd and Regen are meant for USB connections although I admit, its the FOTM at the moment so maybe that's why.
Very stable connection with Chromecast Audio. No dropouts playing Google play music or Spotify and the difference is that it pulls the media directly from the internet rather than from your phone or other such device. iFixit has a description about the parts used in the device. FWIW, its got an AK4430 DAC chip
The number of apps supported are going up exponentially. Tidal is meant to be available later this year although I currently stream my subscription through BubbleUPnP's DLNA service from my Android phone. Its not the best way but I havent tried tweaking it yet. In any case, the device is a no-brainer at $35.
For those on the fence, Google is currently throwing in a free 3 month subscription to their Play Music service which should do nicely till Tidal gets up and running.
The only thing I've noticed is that it runs HOT. I mean really hot. Class A device folks!!

 

Quick question with Chromecast audio. We used to used the Audioengine W3 to stream both our music collection (via itunes) and pandora (etc.) to our living room speakers via wifi. The W3 broke and we're looking for a replacement. Can the Chromecast be used to stream music from your computer via wifi to a set of speakers?

 

Yes in theory although i iTunes may not work. Pandora should.
I haven't tried connecting my PC. It's on my to do list for this weekend but i understand you can stream anything via the Chrome browser. All you need is the app from the chrome webstore and make sure you are on the same WiFi connection.

 

There are two ways to use the Chromecast:

1. Via an application that points the receiver to a URL as its media source. On Android, there are things like LocalCast or AllCast that will do this for local media (most services -- Google Play Music, Spotify, etc. -- support Chromecast as well). On a PC, I'd be surprised if there weren't a Chrome extension that could do this; when the Chromecast came out, I was playing with the SDK and it took about 15 minutes to whip up a thing that would play local media from the PC to the Chromecast.

2. Tabcasting (in Chrome) or casting device audio (on Android). For video, I know this is a suboptimal experience, as the device has to re-compress stuff and send it over; I don't know what it does for audio, but while it might be functional, it's definitely not ideal.

 

Can a PC app like foobar use the dac in Chromecast via usb and then use the CC analog output to a headphone amp? Or do you have to have an android app on a phone or the like to use it at all?

 

I thought the USB port was only for power and transmitted no data?

 

USB is power-only. To get music from a PC to the Chromecast, you need a program (or Chrome extension) that supports the Chromecast. BubbleUPNP will apparently work with Foobar, but you'll really want to understand what you're doing: http://www.bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/#foobar2000_configuration

 

Sorry for my late reply. What you asked is one of the expected applications I think. I use it with JRiver for ripped music or streaming where my PC via JRiver is the "media server/controller" and the Chromecast is the "Renderer". You can then take a simple 3.5mm to 2xRCA cable and connect it to a headphone amp or use the lime colored 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable provided with the Chromecast.
I'll be honest, the DAC in the Chromecast is nothing to write home about and this is coming from a low-fi whore like myself. I've opted for the optical 3.5mm jack feeding my DC-1 and it works like a charm. NO stutters!
I also use Bubble UPnP for streaming Tidal via Android although I've had to import the playlists to the Bubble app. If you have Spotify or Google music then its even easier because you just go to your app and look for the cast logo. BTW, Google music was doing a promo where you get 3 months of an ad-free subscription, free with the purchase of a Chromecast. I opted it for it and I have this service till January when Tidal should be up and running as well, fingers crossed.
I've said it before but I'll repeat, I do like the fact that connectivity is built into one app, i.e., I don't need to use a separate app to stream music from another app, a major reason for me not investing in any of the other wireless home systems. Apart from the ridiculous prices they charged for what they offered, the GUI was not very intuitive and in many cases, simply grotesque, for the lack of a better word. Spotify, Tidal et al have a vested interest in making the app look inviting. Add a "Cast" button and boom, you're in the digital age as it was meant to be!!
Hope this helps.

 

Completely agree. The analog out is suitable for feeding cheap powered speakers, but for any kind of high-quality output, you'll really need an external DAC. (Which isn't super-surprising, considering we're talking about a $35 puck-sized Wifi enabled Linux PC running off USB power; it's sort of amazing it even has a DAC at all.)

As a wireless digital source, though, it's excellent -- it's by far the best way to get audio from a tablet/phone to a DAC, with none of that fussing around with USB host adapters and awkward cables tethering the tablet/phone to the DAC.

 

If anyone is interested in knowing what parts are being used in the Chromecast, you can see it on https://goo.gl/7E7rWu
It uses an AK4430 DAC chip.

BTW, It also uses a NAND chip of part number TC58NVG1S3HBAI6 with a RAM of 2GBs that is made by a company that decided to give it a part number of NT5CB(C)256M8IN, seriously!! I was recently talking to my sister about dinosaurs and she found it annoying that scientists decide to give such difficult to remember/pronounce names. And she's an electrical engineer, go figure! You can't win them all I guess.

 

Anyone knows what the output impedance is on the Chromecast Audio?

 

Apologies for the late reply. I honestly don't know but if I were to guess.... And i live guessing.... i would say it is likely not headphone friendly and more in the region of a usual unbalanced line-out, i.e., 50-200 ohms.

 

Reasonable guess but an actual measurement would be better. Something in the low two digits would open up possibilities.

 

I think I'm going to take a good look at one of these. So I should be able to connect this via optical directly into my Bifrost, and then cast Google Play Music from my phone or iPad?

 

Yup. That's how I stream.
Since Tidal has not added Chromecast connectivity yet, I mirror my LG G3 via Miracast to the Chromecast Audio device. Also works (better?) with the video version but then the TV enters the signal chain. The benefit is that you can see a blown-up version of your phone's screen, which can be good or bad based on your afflictions

FWIW, Miracast samples everything at 16/48.

 

I have read that the newest firmware is able to pass along the original sample rate via toslink. Apparently it used to resample everything to 48 Do you know if that's the case? I'm not talking about Miracast because I understand that is still 48 as you mentioned. I just want to pass along Google Play Music without it being altered.