Taking the humble chromecast audio to greatness

Have you considered running a dedicated phase from your db to the cvt? If you make sure nothing else in the house is connected on this phase, there will be no noise coming from the rest of the house

Hi fifty fifty

Thanks for the suggestion. That is indeed in the works. Just need an electrician who can rewire by room. And considering the small job scope, folks don't seem to be keen to attend just for this petty job.
 
Chromecast devices can be connected to supported Ethernet adapters. The USB port in such connection provides both power and internet connectivity to the Chromecast device. The Ethernet adapter is connected to the router with a Ethernet cable. Setup can be done only via Android or IOS, no support for this yet on windows platform


On windows platform as well you have USB Ethernet adapters .....nothing new in it .... just an FYI
 
On windows platform as well you have USB Ethernet adapters .....nothing new in it .... just an FYI
I have not tried using USB adapters.
As per google specs, setting up chromecast via ethernet is not yet supported under windows google home app, but only in android and IOS.
 
How come the volume control on the phone works when the chromecast is directly accessing the url?


Thats coz of Googles own SDK that they have developed for all third party applications, the play pause and volume functionality is because fo Google Cast APIs developed for each compatible OS that developers can use to bring that functionality. Which can be something other than play pause as well. (Depending on what the dev intentions were)
 
I have not tried using USB adapters.
As per google specs, setting up chromecast via ethernet is not yet supported under windows google home app, but only in android and IOS.

Thats because there is no google home "app" for windows, if you want to set up using windows, you do it using the browser
 
Hi, This is interesting. I still use chromecast audio as source on my headphone set-up but once I got Digione, it became my primary go to source. Chromecast is still handy for apps like amazon music, gaana etc. Let me experiment with power source and see effect on CCA.

Also was wondering if it is possible to achieve cleaner power with battery as source like battery pack or power bank. My understanding is that battery is cleanest source for dc. Please correct if I am wrong and if there is any downside to using battery as source.
 
Hi, This is interesting. I still use chromecast audio as source on my headphone set-up but once I got Digione, it became my primary go to source. Chromecast is still handy for apps like amazon music, gaana etc. Let me experiment with power source and see effect on CCA.

Also was wondering if it is possible to achieve cleaner power with battery as source like battery pack or power bank. My understanding is that battery is cleanest source for dc. Please correct if I am wrong and if there is any downside to using battery as source.
I used a 5v linear power supply to power the Chromecast and it made a big difference. Bass was immediately deeper and more extended. I use wifi and have not used an Ethernet adapter. I would like to know from @newlash09 whether he noticed any difference in sq between lps power and lan adapter power.
On another note, I wonder how such an effective streamer with a dedicated purpose (just one optical out, no multiple inputs, no multiple outputs, no internal or external storage, all of which can affect the sq adversely) is not popular among audiophiles. I feel the sound quality is second to none. Indeed a humble device!
 
I used a 5v linear power supply to power the Chromecast and it made a big difference. Bass was immediately deeper and more extended. I use wifi and have not used an Ethernet adapter. I would like to know from @newlash09 whether he noticed any difference in sq between lps power and lan adapter power.
On another note, I wonder how such an effective streamer with a dedicated purpose (just one optical out, no multiple inputs, no multiple outputs, no internal or external storage, all of which can affect the sq adversely) is not popular among audiophiles. I feel the sound quality is second to none. Indeed a humble device!

Hi fifty fifty...

My whole point with this post was to highlight the Chromecast's merits. I do run a very extensive power setup before the Lpsu feeding the CCA. And it now sounds just sublime :)

Not everyone would be willing to chase it to this end though :)
 
Hi fifty fifty...

My whole point with this post was to highlight the Chromecast's merits. I do run a very extensive power setup before the Lpsu feeding the CCA. And it now sounds just sublime :)

Not everyone would be willing to chase it to this end though :)

Hi,
Yes I understood the power side of it. I too have pretty clean power feeding the CCA. In addition, I use a good glass optical cable feeding into a nice dac and amp. What I wanted to check was whether you tried comparing Ethernet vs wifi?
Thanks
 
I'm asking because the adapter transmits both power and data via the same usb to usb ports/cable. This is something known to distort the data signal and what most folks would avoid. See how audiophile cable brands like Curious attempt to separate power and data paths. So would this factor defeat the advantage of Ethernet over WiFi?
 
Can someone also respond on my question of using battery pack/power bank vs lps as power source please?
Hi,
When i compared the performance of a battery with an lps, I felt the lps sounded better. With a battery, unless it is constantly recharged, in my limited understanding, the voltage will constantly drop with usage and may degrade the sound. On the other hand, if you use a cheapo battery pack instead of batteries, there can be other interferences depending on it's design and the need to recharge the battery pack every day.
 
I'm asking because the adapter transmits both power and data via the same usb to usb ports/cable. This is something known to distort the data signal and what most folks would avoid. See how audiophile cable brands like Curious attempt to separate power and data paths. So would this factor defeat the advantage of Ethernet over WiFi?

Hi fifty fifty...

I actually haven't tried comparing the CCA with wired LAN and WiFi. I will try that and let your good selves know if I notice any difference. Thanks
 
Can someone also respond on my question of using battery pack/power bank vs lps as power source please?

Hi Swaroop
If you have a battery bank of sufficient power, it should deliver a noticable improvement. Even iam led to believe that battery power is the purest. Just not sure if the batteries output power will vary if it is connected to a charger at the same time. That will be for the electronic experts to confirm. But I will try to find my old battery bank and will give it a try tomorrow and will let your good selves know, if a LPSU coming off a power filter and conditioner feeding a CCA is better than pure battery power. But at the same time, I must mention that iam not exactly a critical listener. So please don't be surprised if I report back with no differences :D
 
Hi all...

On a different note. Iam just starting up my roon setup. And same is presently analysing my music database. At present speed, expect it to complete same tomorrow evening. Then I can do a comparison between the CCA as roon end point vs Metrum Ambre as roon end point into the exact same chain. I would be really surprised if the Metrum manages to sound different from the CCA. But will be interesting for me too to compare.
 
. I would be really surprised if the Metrum manages to sound different from the CCA. But will be interesting for me too to compare.
Why do you think that these wouldn't have a difference? Or Metrum Ambre wouldn't justify its asking price in terms of sonic superiority?

Please don't underestimate your hearing capabilities (from our interactions, they're pretty good) , everyone is a born audiophile; and everyone needs some fine tuning (read training) occasionally..
 
It is often chided that Audiophiles hear their equipment while others truly enjoy music even from their basic mobile.
It is true to some extent, and there are guys who fall in that category and end up spending and spending without really understanding or knowing what they need.

Then there are others who also listen music through their equipment (irrespective of the cost in mind), and make changes to enjoy the music more. I have myself changed from a more expensive to a cheaper equipment and found improvement.

In the end, the equipment and the synergy does matter.
 
Hi all...wish you all a great new year ahead :)

My listening has mostly been gaana with whatever they claim to be HD for paid subscribers for the last 3 years. Ive never had any downloaded collection of my own. So ganna and tidal via chromecast have been my staple diet.

I had been looking for a streamer with inbuilt chromecast. And the only one i came across was the cambridge audio cxn v2. And if i spent that kind of money, i wanted a aes-ebu out, which it sadly didnt have. So i figured i had to optimise the CCA as best as i could. And everything used, should be able to continue in service even after i upgraded to the metrum ambre as transport, or the expenditure would be futile.

So got a small 500cvt that i can chuk under my daughters bed. Then the cvt was fed to a isotek evo3 polaris power filter. This inturn feeds a Jay's audio LPSU ( thanks manniraj :) ). The power cable feeding the LPSU is a isotek evo 3. The CCA is hardwired with an amazon fire stick adaptor, so it is hard wired to LAN, without any wifi gremlins. The CCA is then fed to the AMR dp-777 dac cum pre amp with a audioquest cinnamon or forest ( i honestly dont remeber ) mini optical cable, specially designed for the CCA.

And how does it sound after all this faff...in one word...phenomenal :D

There is dynamic head room and such rich tonality in the mix, 2 main complaints of mine over these last few years. And iam so surprised with the improvement in sound quality that clean power brings.

However , iam not done yet. I still have to add a 500va isolation transformer after the cvt to get the purest power feeding the dac cum preamp and the CCA. Will update once the ultra isoltaion is added in the chain :)

So no more CCA bashing on the forum i guess. Google designed a great solution , and just left the power end to end users to decide on. Great design and decision by google in the end
Seeing this thread, I got one CCA from my friend in USA. I haven't set it up yet. Just like you I'm looking for a clean power source. Will just an isolation transformer do or do I need a cvt and then iso transformer?
Got rega brio, concept 20 and now CCA.
 
Seeing this thread, I got one CCA from my friend in USA. I haven't set it up yet. Just like you I'm looking for a clean power source. Will just an isolation transformer do or do I need a cvt and then iso transformer?
Got rega brio, concept 20 and now CCA.

Hi..good morning.

The ideal combination is a CVT > Isolation transformer > Linear power supply > CCA.
 
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