Help with choosing a streaming device.

[muel]

Decided to try the Chromecast Audio.  I'm thoroughly impressed for what I got for 35 bucks.  It works pretty well for streaming.  However, I didn't expect it to be HiFi and it wasn't.  You have to change the settings so that it will play full dynamic range but that only succeeds in making it not bad.  It's fine for streaming audio for the kids or in the garage or backyard which is how I am going to use it.  

 

I'm very curious how the sound of the Chromecast audio compares to the Sonos... does the Sonos sound much better?

[willland]

5 minutes ago, muel said:

I'm very curious how the sound of the Chromecast audio compares to the Sonos... does the Sonos sound much better?

I can't say about Sonos but when I use it in my master bedroom rig with my CA 840C CD player/DAC,  Spotify and Pandora does sound a bit better than the Chromecast Audio's built in DAC.

 

For $35.00, it is without a doubt a performance bargain IMO.

 

Bill

[rplace]

Hey @muel I've had all the sonos speakers 1, 3 and 5. They all sound fantastic almost too good. I kept looking at them say how do they sound so good. Then I got to thinking they wile they sound great for what they are I don't think they are very realistic or perhaps "accurate" is the right audio word. They are very bass heavy. Reminds me of systems that have a quiet mode or evening setting where it boosts the bass for low level listening.

 

Because for casual whole house listening the 1 sounds so good I ditched the 3 and 5 so now I have 1s throughout the house and two connects. I really think the connect is a great piece of kit. Hard to swallow the price but once I bit the bullet for one I had to have another. Online you will read the DAC in the sonos is not as good as Logitech squeezebox/duet/etc but the squeeze box UI/UX sucks. The beauty of the Sonos products is the ease of use. Dead simple. I really think that is what you are paying for. Any person young or old can get the app on there phone and be DJ for a day in minutes. That alone liberates me when we have people over. I keep a small tablet out and welcome people to pick songs. Anything else I've had needs more of a commitment by the owner (me) to understand and learn its oddities. With Sonos it serves me rather than me needing to be a slave to it. Best endorsement is that my wife constantly says finally you got something I can play music on.

 

Beauty of the connect is that it has analog, optical and coax out. With just two connects and my existing equipment (amps and processors with 2nd room options) I have the ability to have music with my existing speakers in my dedicated room, basement, deck, living room and swimming pool.

 

No experience with chromecast so can't say directly. I was a big nay-sayer to my friend who had a sonos system. After a night of dinner and drinks playing with the UI and listening to the sound given the size I was pleasantly surprised. Until you see/use on first hand I think audio nerds have a hard time getting it. At least that was my experience. I did a total 180.

[Tony J]

 I posted this same info in another thread (due to someone asking specifically about Bluesound).

Just a quick update I set up the the Node 2 late last night and got a good hour or so of listening. Setting it up was very easy once connected to my network via Ethernet it auto updated to the latest version. I started with Spotify using the desktop app. no hitches, sound quality was good with Bluesound dac but honestly not that big of a difference from my peachtree's Dac (Everything in the system was the same components other than the Bluesound and a new pair of Zu Audio Wylde interconnects).  Now for Tidal Masters, there was a very big difference in the music, It was more open I could hear better seperation between instruments and noticed more of the *little things* and vocals were more clear  (If you closed your eyes it was almost as if you were there). Now keep in mind this is going from Spotify"s 380 kbps to Tidal's MQA.  So far Im happy with the Bluesound after my limited time using it just wanted to give my initial impressions.

[adam2434]

On 10/19/2017 at 5:27 PM, muel said:

Decided to try the Chromecast Audio.  I'm thoroughly impressed for what I got for 35 bucks.  It works pretty well for streaming.  However, I didn't expect it to be HiFi and it wasn't.  You have to change the settings so that it will play full dynamic range but that only succeeds in making it not bad.  It's fine for streaming audio for the kids or in the garage or backyard which is how I am going to use it.  

 

I'm very curious how the sound of the Chromecast audio compares to the Sonos... does the Sonos sound much better?

 

Are you using the analog or digital output?

 

I only use the digital optical output.  I would not expect much from its analog output, given that the whole thing only costs $35.

 

Also, what streaming service and bitrate are you using?  

 

I also only use the digital output on our Sonos Connect.  With the same music source/bitrate, I would not expect much difference (if any) between the Chromecast and Sonos digital outputs, assuming they are connected to a DAC with good jitter rejection.  

 

The Sonos Connect is great if you want to use streaming services and music files on storage.  It has a very stable and evolved interface.  

 

I used to be a Squeezebox Classic user and it was great for music files on storage.  However, I got a Sonos Play 5 speaker for my wife and decided to switch to a Sonos Connect in my main system, replacing the Squeezebox.  

 

The only thing I miss about the Squeezebox is how well it implemented ReplayGain tags.