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Anyone here still use one of these? I mothballed mine a few years ago but decided to give it another airing. I recently bought an ifi Zen Dac V2 to stream Spotify. I was getting good results with a Dacmagic bought in 2009 using USB in from a PC, but I think the ifi pips it in most areas.
I use the Dig Out in the CC and I have to say that for the £20 I paid it does not embarass itself, in fact it sounds really good. Mind you as is it only outputting a digital signal it depends on the quality of the Dac it is connected to.
camtwister
31-03-2022, 12:07
I have one in each of two systems, Rob, feeding an RME DAC and a Rega DAC.
The Chromecast is outperformed by my modified Node 2 streamer but it's great for sources that are not BluOS enabled, such as Bandcamp.
I bought them as replacements for my Squeezebox Touch unit, when Logitech discontinued. However, my Touch is still in full working order, and sounds better than the Chromecast by some margin.
But in terms of value for money, the Chromecast is good.
In life I have always tended to favour the underdog, the type that don't have the capabilities to be top notch but do as much as they can within their capabilites to achieve their aims and goals.
I probably unconciously apply this to my listening experience of kit and components.
I have been recently been using two Chromecast Audio dongles as virtual Squeezeboxes with Logitech Media Server and the CastBridge plugin to make it possible. When the dongle is used as a transport only optically connected to an external DAC they are excellent (limited by the DAC). The Chromecast's own DAC is OK, but you must remember to turn off the dynamic compression (that is off by default when an external DAC is used.)
They are remarkable devices and I am sorry Google no longer make them.
The Chromecast's own DAC is OK, but you must remember to turn off the dynamic compression (that is off by default when an external DAC is used.
They are remarkable devices and I am sorry Google no longer make them.
I only read that recently, but I also read that the dynamic compression only applies if you are using it as analogue out. If you are using an optical out adaptor it automatically outputs the full signal. When I pair it with Google Home the only sound settings I get are a basic equaliser of Bass and Treble, but these can be helpful if used judiciously.
dynamic compression only applies if you are using it as analogue out. If you are using an optical out adaptor it automatically outputs the full signal
Isn't that what I just said?
Isn't that what I just said?
Yes! of course. Silly me.
Having got good results with the CC and using my phone to control Spotify I wondered if it was possible to get a digital signal from a phone to power a Dac. I am not very clever with how phones and PCs work so what I found is probably very elementary stuff to most. I had never heard of an OTG lead and seeing that some (or most?) phones are able to power a Dac and checking that mine was one of them I took a punt and spent a massive £2.20 on an OTG and If if didn't work well..........
Cable arrived and I plugged the cable into the phone and a USB cable from the Dac and yes it worked.....very well....in fact much better than I would have expected. I am surprised that there is not more info about this way of powering a Dac, maybe everyone wants to go wireless.
And there are OTG adaptors that power the DAC or other peripheral from an external power supply so as not to drain the phone battery; and there are even cables that allow you to charge the phone and drive the DAC at the same time.
And there are OTG adaptors that power the DAC or other peripheral from an external power supply so as not to drain the phone battery; and there are even cables that allow you to charge the phone and drive the DAC at the same time.
Thanks for that.I will have a look.
There is yet another way.
The smartphone is used as the controller of a server; and the server sends data to the Chromecast Audio Dongle (and on to a DAC.)
I use Logitech Media Server (LMS) which has a plugin called Castbridge which will stream data to a Chromecast audio or video dongle turning such devices into virtual squeezeboxes. There are other servers available.
I now run LMS on a Raspberry Pi, but for many years ran it on a PC.
LMS will stream music from services like Spotify, it will stream internet radio stations, and it will stream you own local files (probably ripped CDs)
It is a very flexible system.
See
https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?104614-Announce-CastBridge-integrate-Chromecast-players-with-LMS-(squeeze2cast)&highlight=castbridge
and explore other sections of the forum for general information on LMS
LMS is free and may be downloaded here.
https://www.mysqueezebox.com/download
There are various controller apps for Apple and Android phones which may be downloaded, or LMS may be controlled from a web interface in a browser.
Thanks for that info Brian. I have a lot to read up on and digest.
At the risk of lengthening your reading list the free VLC Player will cast video and audio from PC or Mac.
https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-cast-vlc-to-chromecast#:~:text=To%20cast%20VLC%20from%20Window s%2010%20to%20Chromecast%2C%20simply%20open,Chrome cast%20device%20from%20the%20list.
And the Omnia Music Player on Android Playstore will cast local files from a phone. There are others that will Cast.
At the risk of lengthening your reading list the free VLC Player will cast video and audio from PC or Mac.
https://www.hellotech.com/guide/for/how-to-cast-vlc-to-chromecast#:~:text=To%20cast%20VLC%20from%20Window s%2010%20to%20Chromecast%2C%20simply%20open,Chrome cast%20device%20from%20the%20list.
And the Omnia Music Player on Android Playstore will cast local files from a phone. There are others that will Cast.
Blimey it's a good job i'm retired:eek: I have just thrown another of my own spanners in the works having remembered that I had a Google Nexus tablet gathering dust somewhere and have today wiped it and started re-loading it to see how it performs with streaming.
Thanks again for your input.
Well, it will keep you out of mischief.
Just a caution: VLC for Android is a cut down version and will not Cast; but Omnia will.
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