Chromecast audio - can anyone comment on sound quality?
Oct 30, 2016 at 12:44 PM Post #241 of 560
Has anyone paired CCA through TOSLINK to Chord Mojo? If so, which are the results?

 Thanks

 
My Chord Mojo and CCA through toslink work together flawlessly and sound great to me.   I mostly use Spotify and to me it sounds identical to a direct Spotify link (ie, like Spotify through USB from a computer). There is no pausing, skipping through the CCA/Toslink.  I have read that CCA passes through a bit perfect copy of the 44.1K Spotify stream and have no reason to dispute this...so the CCA/Toslink.  I do not stream many Hi-Def files so I cannot comment on that. 
 
Advantages of CCA over some other options include a a pretty wide selection of source options..(Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, BubbleUPnp, GoogleMusic) and the fact that Google has a team constantly improving the firmware for quality and functionality.   Downsides would include poor itunes/apple music integration, lack of Amazon music integration. 
 
Certainly, with your investments so far it would make sense at least to try a CCA.   Your out $30 and a little time if you do not like it.   I can tell you the chord DAC and CCA play together great. 
 
Oct 30, 2016 at 2:49 PM Post #242 of 560
   
I have read that CCA passes through a bit perfect copy of the 44.1K Spotify stream and have no reason to dispute this...

 
I have no reason to dispute either, but has anyone been able to check if this is really true? I do think the CCA sounds great using Toslink and, to my ear, exactly the same as my Squeezebox streamer, which is also said to be bit perfect. What makes me wonder is the fact that one can control the volume from the CCA (using the phone app). This means the CCA has the capability to preform calculations on those bits. Now, I know that at 100% volume the bits passed should be perfect and that there is no good reason to think that it's not the case. But has anyone checked? I always use the CCA at 100%, controlling the volume at the preamp. At any CCA volume setting less than 100% the bits are assuredly not perfect.
 
Oct 30, 2016 at 3:52 PM Post #243 of 560
   
I have no reason to dispute either, but has anyone been able to check if this is really true? 

This link is the most rigorous testing I have seen. 
 
http://archimago.blogspot.com/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio_27.html
 
You will find a comparison in Table "A" of the measurements of a 16/44 signal direct from USB, through CCA Toslink, and through CCA Analogue (using the CCA DAC). 
 
He also passes a DTS signal (which the CCA cannot decode) to his receiver and it works fine.
 
This is not surprising to me.  Passing even a HiDef Digital Audio signal requires much less Wifi bandwidth than streaming HD video.
 
What is surprising is why the majority of music listeners seem satisfied with Bluetooth which is far inferior to modern Wifi solutions (Sonos, Airport Express, CCA)  
 
The fact that your 10 year old technology Squeezebox could do it is proof it is not that hard to do (CCA retired my Squeezeboxes).  
 
Oct 31, 2016 at 1:55 PM Post #244 of 560
My Chord Mojo and CCA through toslink work together flawlessly and sound great to me.   I mostly use Spotify and to me it sounds identical to a direct Spotify link (ie, like Spotify through USB from a computer). There is no pausing, skipping through the CCA/Toslink.  I have read that CCA passes through a bit perfect copy of the 44.1K Spotify stream and have no reason to dispute this...so the CCA/Toslink.  I do not stream many Hi-Def files so I cannot comment on that. 

Advantages of CCA over some other options include a a pretty wide selection of source options..(Spotify, Tidal, Pandora, BubbleUPnp, GoogleMusic) and the fact that Google has a team constantly improving the firmware for quality and functionality.   Downsides would include poor itunes/apple music integration, lack of Amazon music integration. 

Certainly, with your investments so far it would make sense at least to try a CCA.   Your out $30 and a little time if you do not like it.   I can tell you the chord DAC and CCA play together great. 


Just I got CCA and connected to Mojo and to my stereo amp, result is impressive!!! Tested with Tidal 16/44 and 25/96 FLAC from NAS, both with Bubble UPnP in my Android phone.

Now I want same, Tidal and NAS from iOS, which applications have I to install?

Thanks in advance
 
Nov 1, 2016 at 3:34 PM Post #245 of 560
Hi all again,
 
since yesterday testing things with CCA and in the way I test more I realize how worth is this $35 gadget, really impressive. I have found the cast icon/bottom in iOS Tidal and everything works fantastic, even if Tidal app is open in Android smartphone and iPad I can see in both of them what it is being played independently of which device launched the play. So I don't need any answer on how to make Tidal work from iOS (thanks!)
 
So, can I understand Google cast bottom forces a direct connection for Tidal web cloud/server with CCA? The only thing I couldn't get work is to play offline playlists. Do you have this issue as well?
 
Last test has been replace Mojo with a very old Zhaolu D3 DAC (http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/zhaolu-digital-analog-converter/) 24/192 with specs of Receiver Chip Cirrus Logic CS8416 (192kHz), D/A Chip: Analog Devices CS4398 (24Bit/192kHz), Analog Op-Amp: Burr Brown OPA2604, S/N Ratio: 120dB, THD: 102dB and Dynamic Range: 117dB. The result is a little more of bass but with globally a little of more darkness across all frequencies but good enough for not focused listenings as the good ones are made with Mojo and headphones.
 
My last question is I would like to buy a DAC (without any amp phase) to pair with stereo amp and CCA, with only 2 inputs, TOSLINK and USB, and RCA output for stereo amp. Which one do you recommend to me? Preferably under $300 but reach $500 would not be a problem.

Thanks.
 
 
Nov 2, 2016 at 12:35 AM Post #246 of 560
  .....
My last question is I would like to buy a DAC (without any amp phase) to pair with stereo amp and CCA, with only 2 inputs, TOSLINK and USB, and RCA output for stereo amp. Which one do you recommend to me? Preferably under $300 but reach $500 would not be a problem.

Thanks.
 

There may be only one right answer: http://schiit.com/products/modi-2, and make sure to go with multi-bit option at $249 total.
Or, if you stretch to $599: http://schiit.com/products/bifrost. That is with multi-bit also.
There are plenty of Schiit threads if you aren't up on this fantastic USA audio company.
 
Nov 5, 2016 at 4:41 AM Post #248 of 560
  There may be only one right answer: http://schiit.com/products/modi-2, and make sure to go with multi-bit option at $249 total.
Or, if you stretch to $599: http://schiit.com/products/bifrost. That is with multi-bit also.
There are plenty of Schiit threads if you aren't up on this fantastic USA audio company.

 
How worth is the $300 difference betwwen Modi 2 Multibit and Bifrost Multibit?
When to use Bifrost over Modi?
Thanks
 
Nov 5, 2016 at 12:48 PM Post #249 of 560
   
How worth is the $300 difference betwwen Modi 2 Multibit and Bifrost Multibit?
When to use Bifrost over Modi?
Thanks

I own the Yggy and follow several Schitt threads so I know the reputation of everything they make is excellent. But I haven't absorbed the differences between Modi and Bifrost (usually called Bimby in forums). Best is to search or read Schitt threads or just post your question in a Schitt thread.
I'd suggest asking here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/815368/happy-as-a-pig-in-schiit-introducing-modi-multibit
I'd suggest reading up on all things Schitt, here and here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/784471/what-a-long-strange-trip-its-been-robert-hunter/1260
http://www.head-fi.org/t/701900/schiit-happened-the-story-of-the-worlds-most-improbable-start-up/13845
 
Nov 7, 2016 at 2:35 AM Post #251 of 560
Me again, back with more annoying questions :p Does anybody know whether the wifi of the device used to control a CCA matters? I know that having dual band capabilities is important, but if my phone doesn't support 802.11ac, will that limit the streaming capabilities of the chromecast? Unfortunately I can't test this out myself, I haven't got a chromecast yet (waiting for sales lol).

Edit: asking because I want to buy a cheap android phone to use as a dap, and as far as I can tell the only thing missing from the Galaxy S5 Mini is 802.11ac wifi.
 
Nov 7, 2016 at 11:15 AM Post #252 of 560
rbc,
CCA is fully isolated from your phone's wifi performance. Your phone just initiates a playlist of sorts to the CCA...which then autonomously retrives songs from the cloud. Also the CCA has an Ethernet adapter (from Google store) if bandwidth is a concern.
 
Nov 8, 2016 at 9:14 AM Post #253 of 560
Thanks. Just remembered that if I want to cast audiobooks from a phone the data will have to be uploaded and then re-downloaded though, so 802.11ac might be a good idea anyway.
 
Nov 8, 2016 at 9:39 AM Post #254 of 560
  Thanks. Just remembered that if I want to cast audiobooks from a phone the data will have to be uploaded and then re-downloaded though, so 802.11ac might be a good idea anyway.

Audio books stream at a very low bit rate (32 kbps?) so require very very little bandwidth. Any working WiFi connection should handle them easily. I purchased a $40 non-contract Sprint Motorola Moto G to use as a music controller. Never activated it. I use the native Android functionality to cast from the phone to the CCA. The smartphone runs Android 5.x and the network is 802.11g. It performs flawlessly casting music (much higher bandwidth than an audio book) files. Today, if I was buying a phone dedicated to be a "controller" I would look for a cheap Android 6 device.
 
Nov 8, 2016 at 3:38 PM Post #255 of 560
Right, yeah fair point. I also plan to use the phone as my main portable device, and the S5 Mini uses the same Wolfson dac as the S5 (and is much more pocket-friendly). My preference would really be the Xperia Z5 Compact but apparently it has serious bluetooth issues.
 

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