Didn't know it existed until i saw this.

But at least when I switched to Chromecast 2 then I got £40 play store credit. (2 devices)

Haha. Was just thinking the same!

or a 6th plus 3 chromcasts :-)

I wonder why?

cld it be because these product really store all your audio or video preferences and then send it to google for market purposes or worse via wifi ? :smiley:

just posing a curious question before i get attacked by all the HUKD google fanatics.

The also removed Apple TV. They don't include any devices that don't support Amazon Video/Prime Video.

Conflict of interests.

If your CD/Radio has some sort of auxiliary input then yes. The Chromecast Audio comes with a 3.5mm jack, your unit may also have a red/white stereo input in which cause you would need to get an adapter/cable that fits.

The Chromecast is powered by an included USB charger/cable similar to most phones.

If your CD player has some sort of audio in like 3.5mm line in or the red/white RCA ports, then yes. This outputs through a standard headphone port so just need the right cable.

It's USB powered and comes with a plug.

It's powered from a micro USB lead (supplied, with a plug) so you'll need access to a power source. Don't see why you can't connect to any speaker with a suitable input socket. Hope this is helpful.

It has a microusb power plug ... Neatest way to use it is to get a powered speaker with usb charging port /line in on back .. The chromecast plugs straight in and is powered/feeds straight in ... I use one with a small decent quality Aldi speaker .. Works perfectly and decent quality for cheap as chips money

Via a separate cable into the Chromecast. So needs to be fairly close to a plug.

No - needs amplified or powered speakers

You need a radio/speakers etc with an aux inlet.
You need wifi in the area.
You need an extra plug socket.
You need a phone/tablet which can support the chromecast app (sounds obvious but my dad's phone doesn't support it despite being android based).

You will need some sort of amp for this. They are available on Amazon for £20 or sohere

How do you configure it to connect to your wifi ?

Also can you cnnect it to any wifi ie router as well as phone hotspots wifi?

Same. I bought mine with the wrong assumption that I could simply stream any audio to it (or, at least, audio from apps which work with Chromecast video e.g. iPlayer). This is not the case. Still a handy device though.

good to know, there is a work around for spotify if you aren't premium if you have a tablet you can connect it to your hi-fi via aux then use your computer or laptop as a connected device to control the spotify app

You can also stream your own music via Google Play Music - you can upload upto 50,000 songs free. That's over 4000 albums. The streaming works perfectly.
Further, if you need to stream music stored locally you can use the fantastic LocalCast app.

You can also cast thousands of radio stations using TuneIn, not to mention many other apps with inbuilt Chromecast Audio streaming including YouTube. It's a very flexible solution and makes solutions such as Sonos appear rather exorbitantly priced.

I recently bought 2 of these and just bought 2 more today. They are brilliant. You can link them together and move from room to room and they are in perfect sync,sound quality is great and I find them much more reliable than bluetooth connections. I also googled and found a website where you can play music files from your PC to any chromecast enabled device. My kids love it for streaming music from youtube from their phones to their stereo's and to mine ! Not sure if poweramp supports chromecast yet. But google music and youtube do.

Personally I'd stick with the Bluetooth, the sound quality between Bluetooth and chromecast is marginal in my experience and the biggest benefit is that with Bluetooth you don't have to pay for the premium accounts on spotify or deezer.

Had I known this deezer & spotify will only work with chromecast when you pay for the subscription premium accounts I would probably have just upgraded my radio/dock system and stuck with Bluetooth like my other system uses.

can you pls let us know the 'bluetooth thing' you are talking about ie the one you are currently using :smiley:

I've just switched from using Bluetooth on my Orbitsound soundbar and have to say I prefer this "casting" solution. I have a Chromecast app on my (Android) phone and tablet. It supports RCA, 3.5mm and optical inputs - though only the 3.5mm cable is supplied.

1. Yes, as long as your Hi-Fi has some kind of Audio-In
2. No, unfortunately not.

1) with the chromecast app you can link your phone to the hifi to stream music, audio from YouTube etc. if you have an aux inlet. I don't think it works with the call function if that's what you're asking?!


2) don't know for sure but I don't think so.

Ps I would like to connect the iPhone to a Denon Dm40 and play apple music on the Denon. Will this do the job?

Yes
And no at the moment. The only way would be to cast an android phone whilst streaming Apple music (that I know of) TBH this is one of the main reasons that I use Google Music to upload my own music to the cloud and Spotify as I switch between iOS and Android a lot and these work with both.

If you sold a product of your own on your own site would you sell a competitors product that did the same thing. I think it's you that is the halfwit.

said one man ever :-) Most Bluetooth receivers are limited to 192Kb quality (not all now tbf) This does much higher quality audio. Sounds like poor router to me!

​where as I would bother. 3 rooms running with no problems

I use the M38 and it works great, go for the M40 which has some good deals at the mo......Richer sounds has them at £179 ex speakers, but just noticed they have 3 ex display M39s for £99 , again without speakers of course, but a few good deals on here for speakers..Wharfedale 9.0s for £39 again at the same place

just tested for you. yes.

​yes

​nope, it has to be connected to an access point (router).
The connection goes: phone -> router -> this.

Not really... I mean there are ways you can.. if you have a mifi in the car or something.. but there is zero benefit. If you can hook this to your car via a cable to recieve audio.. you can just plug the cable straight into your phone.. save a step, not need this, not need usb to power this, and not need a mifi dongle to have wifi in the car.

So yes.. but its not something you should do.

i think some people have done this via creating a wifi network but bear in mind the device streams direct from the internet. I think some people got round it by casting direct to the device from the phone using the case option on android but i wouldn't recommend it for car usage. Bluetooth and a separate ipod or phone are better for car.

It can if you've got the right sort of equipment and seems like a lot of faffing for little benefit, unless you've got an acoustically tuned vehicle, you might as well choose the easiest setup.

mike

Yep. You set up groups. So you can, for example, set up a downstairs group (which you link in all your downstairs cc audios) or whole house. You can set your own groups as you please.

yes

​yes

If it was faulty, how do you know it was terrible?

​the thing to remember is unless you buy two Sonos 1s you are not getting stereo sound (unless they changed that) so you need to be looking at the 3 or 5. I'm very happy with two BOSE docks linked to Chromecast Audio. much cheaper then a pair of 1s.

​errrr why......? The All series are already multiroom audio devices so A don't need Chromecast, B it wouldn't work with them as 2 different solutions.

​I've got two good ones and no. yes for portability but no for sound. plus as people have mentioned this way you don't get any other noise from your phone, need to be within Bluetooth range or drain your phone battery.

Quick answer IMO no......:smiley: long answer depends what you want , have a look thru the thread for the pros and cons...

Saying that I got this this morning and its brilliant https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01C49GVZM/ref=s9_simh_gw_g107_i1_r?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=FKZPT4EM280T8PM8Y0BC&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=867551807&pf_rd_i=desktop

£34 from amazon but £30 delivered thru Flubit

​no

Yes. There is a delay though, so not synced audio to video. This also does multi room audio /. high def audio.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/04/sonos-on-the-cheap-how-chromecast-audio-breathes-new-life-into-old-speakers/
Lots of shill comments from Sonos on their forums. Not surprising as this basically undercuts them by about £100 per room.

Overkill. I just walk over to my radio and press the on button.

no

no. i find that annoying. i also find it annoying that i can't pair them up with my Spotify connect devices.

Thers no lag.
Unless your wifi is playing up.

>>>>>
Think of it this way..

Chromecast V1/V2 = video / films / local media streaming / music
Chromecast Audio = music

As the CCA is independant and is not reliant on a hdmi socket, it is perfect for
taking a mahhhhosivvvvvvvvvve set of powered or amp driven speakers and
making them into a new connected sound setup for use in any room / garage
/ man|girl cave / office..

One of these:
http://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Loudspeaker-Systems/Portable-Speakers/B812NEO/p/P0A07

Plus one of these:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/kenable-3-5mm-Stereo-Laptop-Speaker/dp/B003OSPSXE

Is one of the many different ways you can use CCA ;-)

You can't plug a Chromecast 2 directly into a hifi.

The huge bonus for me for the Chromecast Audio has the digital out - means I can connect it to the optical input of my amp and use the expensive DAC in there rather than the onboard one.

a 3.5mm splitter

I dont know if this has been answered (I am up to page 8 ) but I have had a little switchable box for years that does this , it has 3 RCA inputs and a 3.5mm input and then one output to your aux on your hifi

http://cache-cdn.kalaydo.de/mmo/1/892/042/01_-1583946669.jpg

or a normal chromecast and cast music to the tv then to the speakers

or a splitter lol (just saw the post) :smiley:

if you are playing it in a chrome browser such as netflix etc then yes.

>>>>>
Only if you have them powered by an amp or as part of a powered audio setup ;-)

​Yes, but you will need an amplifier. This is your cheapest option.

You only need one chromecast audio and 1 amp for your pair of speakers. the amp wired left and right. plus some speaker cable

>>>>>
Try one of these ;-)
http://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Loudspeaker-Systems/Portable-Speakers/B212D/p/P0A2E

Biggest downside is that each speaker will have it's own independent volume control. If they're not exactly the same then it's going to sound weird.

Plus I don't know whether the two Chromecasts will play the music 100% in sync. Even a fraction of a millisecond out and you'll have unbalanced speakers.

For the sake of extra cable I really don't think it's worth it.

>>>>>
Have you got a pumping dual AC router and / or one of your chromecast audio devices, attached
to amp / speaker setup via a hard wired ethernet connection? eg: direct to the router or a switch
or homeplug first..

No - you need powered speakers or a hifi
This will provide a line in signal to whatever you want to put it to

1: no, only with computer and running chrome browser and cast this tab
2: plays advert music if using above method.
3: You can't cast local files, only audio available online (google music, spotify). (use google musics free upload service thing)
4: Your phone volume will control the level. Like with bluetooth for example.

You assume correctly. Nor Apple music.

I am casting Amazon prime music using Chrome browser

buy a longer 3.5mm or optical cable?

I stuck mine on the back of the telly with a glue gun - which was a deal on here too. Lol

Not a swipe at the product, just my addiction to HUKD

correct, try this I have a couple , https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003PU4F8U/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2X1ST6CC1USDW £1.90 delivered if you use the other seller option

Bloody Currys want £12 lol

Nice, but the low speaker hum on vid made expect a really loud sound at some point for some reason, made me anxious :confused:

Fantastic video, I have been looking for an amp like that.

You should really have more views and subs on YouTube your videos are really well thought out.

Awesome video thanks and I learnt about the Google Music Family option which I have now subscribed to as I had to cancel my previous 'individual' membership as I was frustrated with double subscribing with the rest of my family.

Great video. Thanks :-)

No, not as an AirPlay speaker, however it will work in Chromecast enabled apps such as Spotify, Google Play Music, Plex, ect.

What you want is an AirPort Express, you can plug them into any HiFi/docking station etc and will then show up as an AirPlay speaker for any Apple device and also in your iTunes.

It doesn't come up as a simple option (i.e. when you hit the cast button in youtube, the Chromecast audio devices don't show). However if you go into the google cast app and hit menu, cast screen / audio and select your chromecast audio... then anything you play on your phone will play through that chromecast audio

It's not possible yet but Google haven't ruled out it.

As a workaround, if you are doing it from a PC, you can use Chrome and cast the audio from one of the tabs in that. That's what I do if I ever use Youtube.

To listen to music through your hi-fi (or powered/amplified speakers) rather than watch streaming movies on your telly.

Better quality DAC and you can enable HDR mode so the sound is vastly improved.

This doesn't have HDMI, it's a normal 3.5mm analogue or toslink digital.

Completely disagree, there's absolutely no obvious sound difference between the white NowTV box, and the Chromecast Audio that I happen to have plugged into the same amp, and to be honest playing FLAC audio via Plex through mine plugged into this amp isn't so different to the audio I get from my high end CD player, I've not felt the need to switch on the CD player since getting it. I should own an optical cable shortly to test out relying on the amps DAC instead, but I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality.

mike

link?

see nobody has answered your question. If a legit question then yes it is. You could connect to any of the red/white stereo jacks on the back using a 3.5mm to stereo left right cable.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CPO-3-5mm-Stereo-White-Plated/dp/B0021YGVOC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461875327&sr=8-1&keywords=3.5+to+white+red+cable

or via optical cable to the optical in port on your DVD/AMP (which would be better)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/FosPower%C2%AE-Plated-Toslink-Digital-Optical/dp/B00T8HWUVS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461875403&sr=8-1&keywords=3.5+to+optical

​sorry no idea ref compatibility. if I were to guess, I'd say incompatible. But then I am a little unsure of what you are trying to do as I must have missed a post or 25.

No it doesn't have. A shame since even my cheap bluetooth speaker has line-in. But well it's Sonos they think they can sell without...

YES - the play5 has 3.5mm input jack, or connect rca, or connect amp rca.
NO - play1 & play3.

Yes, but you need a 3.5mm to rca cable.

Yes, but you will need the optical lead HERE I have this system too, sounds awesome thru 5.1. . Also, go into the ccaudio settings to adjust it. You can switch 'full dynamic range' to on. Hope this helps

my tv system. I'd go the optical route for this as the DAC is probably better in that the the CCA.

I can't find any info on this and all youtube videos I watched only show Android phones.
How is it working on iPhones?

I had the popping issue when I tried to use a CC Audio on my TV surround system and use its own USB to power it. I gave up in the end and just plugged it into the mains..

​no. sorry.

what sort of socket , if 3.5mm yes,.............. what stereo ?

I've found my chromecasts to be extraordinarily good with my wifi, consistently achieving signals where my other devices can't, but of course it will never be better than a multi-sonos setup, just because of the way it does it's mesh, assuming you use that. Personally I'd add a wifi repeater for £20-40 and still keep the cost at less than the VAT on a Sonos setup. I'd love a Sonos, apart from the cost and file limits, but this is a pretty remarkable competitor considering the price.

mike

​i have a long cottage with very thick dividing walls. I have 4 WiFi repeaters and 5,Chromecasts running off a 3mbps connection. Been faultless for 6 months!

​just get active speakers, no amp needed.

No and yes.....Have a look here https://community.spotify.com/t5/Help-Desktop-Linux-Windows-Web/Connecting-to-Chromecast-from-Windows-Desktop-Client/td-p/1220450

Watch out we've got a Bing user over here!

I'm not asking it to do anything it shouldn't be able to do.
People as using these to play the sound from their videos over their hi-fi systems (for instance).
But it just doesn't support enough video sound types.
Asking a phone or a cheap tablet to transcode on the fly is asking too much.
I don't think Chromecast 2 supports any more sound formats.
MKV is so common, I've got over MKV 3000 files.
If you want to make backup copies of your DVDs or Blurays, there is an excellent DVD, BluRay conversion program which is free and quick. It saves the originals getting scratched and allows them to be shared locally if you've got a media player. It saves as MKV

It does work, but only on specific file types. I'm just warning anyone who thinks it might work with the usual types of video files that it won't without transcoding and that's a disaster. Not even .flv (utube videos) are supported. Anyone wanting one for say £5 plus postage please PM me.

I've been using hi-fi for well over 25 years, and in that time, the one rule has been listen, it doesn't matter what the reviewers say, it doesn't matter what the Physics says, all that matters is what you hear, which is a combination of many factors, but by far the biggest is personal preference.

I don't think the idea that a jack plug has been around for xx years has any bearing on the factors, lets face it, ultimately you're going to have the signal exit the amplifier via technology that makes the 3.5mm jack seem positively juvenile.

I hope the optical output gives me better sound quality with my chromecast, apart from the fact my amp has loads of RCA inputs and relatively few optical. But for a low spend, I'll happily choose to use analogue if it sounds the same and ignore the cost.

mike

Somewhat agree , but mike has hit the nail on the head in that the differences are so small most will not notice, saying that if my £350 system had optical I would use it , but it has not so RCA it is, and TBH sounds great......

And to be fair RCA has been around since the dinosaurs ruled the earth, but its all we had and we seemed happy with it :smiley: , it reminds me of all the online discussions about which HD format is "best" , when it was not long ago we were all watching VCRs on 21" TVs connected with an aerial cable :confused:

​Most audiophile Hi-Fi shops will disagree with you. New tech does not always mean better. Take Bluetooth headphones, well i wouldn't. As they are simply not as good as an analogue wired pair. (like for like)

Digital is not better than analogue, it's different and many people seem to think analogue is the way forward for their music collection. Personally my old JVC turntable sounded way better than my Arcam CD player when playing classical music, the depth of sound available was way superior. But convenience wins out every single time, and it's a whole lot easier to keep CDs than LPs. Now we've got streaming media, this is way more convenient, but in no way does it sound better than that Arcam CD player. The really interesting thing is the Arcam is connected via RCA cables, although big beefy gold played jobbies designed with signal loss avoidance and interference reduction in mind, which is probably better than 99.9% of the 3.5mm cables being used by most chromecast users, and why is this, simply because it sounds way better, so clearly the Arcam DAC is so much better than my amplifier's it can compensate for the cables and produce better sound.

The assumption that an expensive amp should have a better DAC is false, the typical amplifier sells in 10s of thousands, Google has shifted many millions of chromecasts, therefore economy of scale may mean the same cost per unit for a DAC in an amplifier compared with the chromecast, don't think the DAC represents the majority cost of any amplifier, it's simply another component in the whole overal cost, may be significant, but won't be a large percentage.

Basically the only way to tell is listen, thankfully a cable costs peanuts, and with fibre optic should be largely error free so a cheap one will behave more or less as good as an expensive one. If you read the comments on many forums you'll find the opinion is pretty much split.

Anyway, to my results, connected up to my amplifier using the optical out, it was way better, the soundstage was wider, clearer and less muffled, to be honest I was surprised at the scale of the difference, expecting a minor improvement but there you go. However, plugged into a midi-hifi, there was pretty much no noticeable difference whatsoever. So clearly you may get better sound, but only if the DAC in the device is pretty competent otherwise go with convenience.

mike

Yep working fine for me...............

Yes, but as far as I know the only app that works is the version on Android, certainly my windows and blackberry apps do not have the cast button.

If you run Plex in the Chrome browser, the option is available, which is how I cast using Windows.

I've got a massive Dell server, serving video, so have added a load of music libraries to cover part of my music collection. Works very well, though it works best with properly tagged MP3 files.

mike

This is WiFi so better coverage.

​John Lewis are £15 at the mo. if that helps.

​agreed. I am at nine. I HiFi, I kitchen radio, 5 speakers and two still to buy.

You can cast whatever is on your phone by going into the google cast app, hitting menu, then clicking cast screen / audio. Any songs you play on your phone on whatever app will then play on the chromecast.

I know that Sky Go blocks this from working, but I don't think anything else does.

Sorry if this is stating the obvious - just pick up some separate plugs adaptors? They're just like ones you'd commonly have with your phone that have USB connections.

​search for blackberry USB charger EU. I tend to buy these, never had an issue.

I personally think it's a crime to couple a Chromecast to a Panasonic ghettoblaster, but hey that could just be me :-)

Yes this audio device doesn't support those video containers.

What were you expecting?

I've got a similar problem with my car, it doesn't fly nor does it work on rails without the tyres removed ;-)

Transcoding is fine on my setup if I wanted to do it, it certainly doesn't cause stuttering. But given the Chromecast is £25 in most places, why buy this if that's what you want to do.

mike

Yeah, you are a newish subscriber to PlusNet as you have their now BT owned router (it is effectively a bleached BT Home Hub). Sadly this means it has the inherent flaws of the BT model. Try and find a channel that is not congested and stick to it by manually selecting it in the hub settings. Also if you have devices that support it opt to just use the 5GHz frequency. Turn off the 'help assistant' with connectivity issues. Turn off any 'boosting' type options in the WiFi and if it is still an option manually set the DNS entries to be something like Google's 8.8.8.8 / 8.8.4.4

After some tweaking you should find those problems go away.

Go into device settings and switch off cast and volume change sounds.

Have you enabled "Full Dynamic Rang for AVR's and HIFI systems" in Device Settings ?

Bluetooth even AptX cannot by definition be better as Bluetooth is a compressive technology. There's some element of loss in fidelity. Add to that the pain of having to pair with a Bluetooth speaker every time you pop out of range. The Chromecast is always connected so long as you're within WiFi range, which is usually the case if you're anywhere inside your house.

First things first, download WiFi A n a l yzer (its free) and make sure your routers Wi-Fi isn't sitting on a busy channel as that will dramatically cause you to drop connections on these things. The app detects and recommends the channels for you.

The Poweramp is currently developing Chromecast support among other things in its new update, one of the administrators on the forum stated in the last 24hours that :- "It's planned for the final beta releases of Powerampv3".

Poweramp v3 is currently in early (ALPHA-3 test build 703) stage seen here but it still isn't added yet. :stuck_out_tongue:

Regarding your battery, leaving Bluetooth on wont help you.

Even my other half who pretends not to like tech keeps using the Chromecasts.. I'm going to get another one and some purpose built bathroom speakers to use with my next one.

The only thing that winds me up about the CCA device is the fact that Google have failed to provide CCA support on their own official Android Youtube app. Saying that you can still cast over that using the stock Android cast button or alternatively cast YouTube via the Chrome browser plugin.

I'm warming to chrome, but prefer Firefox but their isn't any chrome case options on that...

My studio monitors are M-Audio bx5 deluxe, not cheap, and they don't have optical input. So I understand the fact of using 3.5mm analogue is the problem? At the moment I play music from my phone via bluetooth/wifi >> to Chromecast >> 3.5mm analogue >> to monitors. If connect that same 3.5mm analogue directly to my phone the sound is much better. How is that possible? It cannot loose so much quality streaming via bluetooth/wifi.

It will play sound from youtube but only when using the screenmirror/miracast option, so basically same behaviour as a bluetooth device, all sound on the phone/tablet including clicks etc. will get sent to the CCA.

Unfortunately, and this is a big shame, it does not support youtube properly as a cast, so when you minimise youtube on your phone you loose the audio.

dam, was going to get another one