HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

More digital dalliance from me. What do you get for £25?

Out of the box, all I have is Google Play Music (Soundcloud and Bandcamp don't seem to have the casting capability yet.) I need to figure out how to connect it to RCA cables (it has a 3.5 mm socket) and to see how I can get to my NAS from it.

Adaptors for stereo 3.5mm to 2x RCA should be easy to find, Terry. Several companies (Supra?) also make cables that do this.

Curious to hear what the SQ is - is this the newest version?

Ta. I might go with a little 3.5 mm to RCA female adapter because that'll use existing cable. I should have a cheapo one knocking around somewhere to ge me started.

Yes it is the latest version. Although I won't be able to say anything about SQ until I've got it hooked up to the main system.

Terry, get the showbox app and download a third party casting app such as localcast or all cast and then you're all set for basically any movie or show.

I use mine into the TV hdmi slot and then an optical out from to my DAC. Sound quality is excellent.

Friend 'Labarum' on other sites told me to buy one ages ago as he's thrilled with his. I asked where it went and was told to stick it on the back of the TV. 'How does it connect to the TV?' asked I. The reply came to use an HDMI socket (I think it was). Our telly is a Panasonic CRT with SCART sockets, so not really suitable. Not really up to date here, am I?

One day, we'll update our telly, but until then, I'm still wondering to what advantage will a Chromecast be, as we don't watch loads of films and never stream TV sound into the stereo!

_D_S_J_R_ wrote:One day, we'll update our telly, but until then, I'm still wondering to what advantage will a Chromecast be, as we don't watch loads of films and never stream TV sound into the stereo!

You don't know what you're missing - Netflix is rapidly becoming essential here.

We don't watch loads of films though

Can a £25 digital player sound good? Well I think I have to say yes.

Before I go on, I should say:

• It's a streaming device which uses a home wifi network and you will need to point it at a source for the music (cast to it). I turned on the DNLA server on my NAS which stores my digital music and used BubleUPNP on my android phone to control it. Having other wifi devices using the same network at the same time can upset this. I found this a little flakey at times (i.e. the music would sometimes not start).

• It does not have an RCA out (despite what they say on google) it has a 3.5mm stereo jack. I've been using a cheap (£1) adapter to convert to RCA connections to plug it into my kit.

• Despite what it says, it is not Plug'n'Play if you want the best sound quality. When I first listened I thought rather 'Ho, Hum' but then I found the 'Full Dynamic Range' setting was off by default. Turning it on seemed to wake it up (but maybe it jost makes it louder - see below.

I've not made a final decision about this yet because in AB comparisons it is louder that my Raspberry Pi reference (and I've been using TIS with it). I've measured it at about 6db louder. Nevertheless, I think it goes to show that you don't need to pay a lot of money to get a decent (not flawless by any means) digital source.

The Full Dynamic Range is mostly meant for use with a mini-Toslink cable (the ones that look like a 3,5mm jack).

hi
probably a silly question but if i use this with a laptop is the quality governed by the sound card