My friend. Jitter bug should be used when you transmit digital audio from an usb audio source. In the case of chromemast audio, usb port is for power the device only. No data is transmited. No jitter exists. In this scenario usb jitter bug is useless.
ivan echeverria Hi, thanks for your comment and you are partly correct. - Tere is no data transmission in this scenario of course, but the jitterbug is sold as a ‘ USB data and power’ noise filter. So it is not only for digital audio. - They claim it will also have an effect when you place a second jitterbug in a unused USB port (so without a cable). I never tried that, but as you can see it is not only for a digital signal as you said.
Good idea about Jitterbug.. there's also two other ways to improve Chormecast audio. One is to go into the chormecast via ethernet cable instead of wifi using an adapter.. John Darko has an article about that on his site. Second, the toslink output can be cleaned up with the ifi spdif purifier.. Not sure which is the biggest bang for the bucks specially if you end up using a battery pack.
Ethernet is useful depending how far one is from the main hub. Battery pack (DC) is definitely the way to go if one has no issue with recharging. If using ac and don't want to spend the bucks on the jitterbug, the use of ferrite rings will help kill noise/ improve jitter.
The jitterbug is not needed. The whole point of optical is to abandon the electrical connection for a light signal. Those filters are a waste of money, as all audio equipment will have a filter circuit built into it as standard. Just trying to save people some money.
Great video! I use mine as a roon endpoint & when using Google play music I made sure that high quality mode is enabled. Sounds really good going to my schiit modi multibit optical input.
Thanks for the video. I connected my Chromecast Audio via optical to an SMSL Sanskrit 10th MkII then to a Parasound 2125 amp driving my Energy e:XL 28Ps. Now, no DSD or any high res music but just feeding the Sanskrit with the optical signal from a Chromecast Audio puck and that alone produces fabulous sound. The DAC is absolutely adequate but the difference from going straight from the CCA puck using 3.5 to RCA to the optical option with the Sanskrit is amazing. Also, I'm powering the Sanskrit with an IFI ipower 5v power supply.
I have been using a rig similar to this for nearly 3 years now. Initially a Chromecast Audio into a Chord Mojo, but more recently into an Arcam rDac. The little Chromecast is the best piece of hifi I have ever purchased. I got mine for around £20 before they shot up in value. If you are lucky (and patient) you can pick them up on various selling sites for as little as £10. I use mine with Roon and my own FLAC library of 44.1-96khz 24 bit files. The onboard DAC is ok but its let down by a pretty poor output stage. It sounds ok but not amazing. The jewel in the crown is that optical output so you can use a better DAC and output stage. I wanted a standalone DAC that had a good well built twin RCA output stage, and opted for an Arcam rDac as they are only around £100. I am also a fan of Wolfson DAC chips, but this is purely personal preference. In nearly 3 years I haven't found a better solution to streaming than this when considering the performance to price ratio.
Very interesting !! May I ask you if you know if playing at 24 bit if the quality of the signal is still good? Can you significantly lose quality in this wireless system? I will install soon a DAC with a PC as source and I will mostly go for this solution...Thank you in advance
Mattia Stefani Hi, I did not encounter any loss of quality when playing 24 bit. However, when your wireless connection is not strong enough you can get dropouts. - What PC an DAC are you going to use? Thank you for watching.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Thanks for answering, good to know.. I have iMac by Apple but still no idea about DAC I am going to install... I am firstly looking for a way to avoid wires since iMac and DAC will be not close (around 4 meters). Regarding the poor wireless connection that could occur, here maybe the alternative Yamaha WXAD-10 should be better since has ethernet port?? Thanks a lot, greetings from Italy
@@AntPDC I guess the confusion is that I called the little loudspeaker in the video a Bluetooth loudspeaker. I did not mean it as a Bluetooth connection. The Chromecast Audio does not do Bluetooth
Your fancy DAC has optical in, it must have an optical out to plug into your amplifier' optical in ? Is that a better choice seeing most amps have optical in ?
@@johncoscia5258 Hi, thanks for your comment. I am not sure why a fancy DAC would have a digital output (it’s purpose is to change digital into analog), but if the DAC inside your amp is of better quality you should definitely connect the Chromecast directly to your amp.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 My Chromecast 3 not audio only has a HDMI out and is my best streaming option.So i got this from ebay, 4K HDMI to HDMI Extractor Converter Optical Toslink SPDIF + 3.5mm Audio RCA. l obviously use the optical digital out and into my Denon AVR. It's very good for the price. l can't get any eq on my PC to work with chromecast and Tidal free won't completely connect so it's Utube music , thanks .
DAC in the chromecast is a pretty decent one already. Im using it with 2 rca plugs and it sounds fine on a Denon amp with high dynamic range setting enabled.
Mityah Hi, you can’t do some of the things from the video of course, but here are some suggestions: - If possible use it wired instead of over WiFi. - The chromecast I use in the video has a setting for full dynamic range. Make sure it’s turned on in the software. - Use good source material (no mp3 for example). - Then there is of course the things that you can do with your receiver like better power, better cables, a good rack or a better external DAC and so on. Enjoy and thanks for watching 👍
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Thank you, I will definitely try to fulfill each of those tips if possible and investigate further. All this audio-stuff is taking my puny brain a long time to understand so I really appreciate all these videos on the matter 👍
Use a decent power bank between the plug and the Chromecast...something regulated. I've got the Redmi 10000mah 18w power bank with two USB outputs, one powering the Chromecast and the other powering a cheap SMSL Sanskrit 10th V2 DAC...this gives you 24/96 (Chromecast limitation) However....it's slightly cheaper to just get a Yamaha WXAD-10 which gives you full 24/192 and tbh, sounds better.....if you can put up with Musicast
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 I just got a chromecast audio and the original chromecast using a the hdmi splitter box sounds a lot better :D . It's a bad product friend unless you're using optical maybe.
Anthony Steele For the price I think it does a wonderful job. You have to put it on full dynamic range though. If you use optical it is just a streamer throughput.
I have one question, mayby somebody could help me? Is it possible to hear Tidal files in Master quality if i use the Tidal App on my Phone and connect it to this Setup?
The Music Fidelity V-DAC II is a very good DA converter. BUT the Jitter Bug is imo completely unnecessary, cause the chromecast only sends digital data to the VDAC. I mean there are no "good" or "bad" zeros and ones if you understand, it's just digital data. So it is technically impossible that this could have any effect on the sound. What COULD have an effect is a good power supply to the V-DAC!
Hi, thanks for your comment. However, you may have overlooked that the jitterbug is not in the digital path. - And yes, there are no 'bad' zero's. But how the equipment handles the digital signal can influence the quality (meaning quality of the design, components, power and so on).
Just wondered, what is the model of the Anker power pack that you are using? And does it output the correct voltage for the Chromecast. Thanks in advance.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Please explain then. As I understand, it's an RF noise filter for USB power sources which should supposedly improve sound quality. I'm just saying I don't buy that claim unless there's a reasonable explanation for how RF noise is flipping zeros and ones in the digital signal out. Analog is another story
@@thegrimmer As you said it is intended to filter out noise (that is the claim). It is not intended to change ones and zeros. - If you change the ones and zeros you change the music, how can that be the intended use? - RF noise does not flip ones and zeros. You are confused about claims that are not being made.
Lost me at this is the cable. The cable costs more than the GCCA itself. Overkill. LOL jitterbug on a battery, really on DC current, can you even really hear a difference. Humans after 40 start losing spectrum, do you think these things make any difference from regular cables, don't mean cheap more like bluejeans or Monoprice. Finally with headphones the internal dAC is ok. nahhh you contradict yourself. .
Estuardo My pleasure. You could go for a Yamaha WXAD-10 (at 4 times the price). Next is Sonos, followed by Bluesound. The chromecast is really special for it’s price. Question: Why do you want an alternative?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 i round this www.arylic.com/collections/frontpage/products/up2stream-wifi-audio-receiver-module-dlna-airplay-analog-output?aff=4 , I think i'm going for this one
Ігор Громада Hi, your DLNA interface should have a setting that let’s you choose what device you want to stream your music to. What interface are you using?
I've a chromecast audio connected via toslink on my amp. You say you here improvement in sound using the jitterbug in the power line. What improvements do you mean? Is it a major difference?
Looking only at the jitterbug the difference is very small. Just a little less background noise. It is the accumulation of all the different steps that makes the difference. Thanks for watching.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 i don't see any measurements on what Hifi . It's just a sales magazine. Show me the measurements to prove it does anything, as I have shown you some to show it does nothing. Nothing !!! Placebo effect.😀 what hi-fi, what a joke !!
My friend. Jitter bug should be used when you transmit digital audio from an usb audio source. In the case of chromemast audio, usb port is for power the device only. No data is transmited. No jitter exists. In this scenario usb jitter bug is useless.
ivan echeverria Hi, thanks for your comment and you are partly correct.
- Tere is no data transmission in this scenario of course, but the jitterbug is sold as a ‘ USB data and power’ noise filter. So it is not only for digital audio.
- They claim it will also have an effect when you place a second jitterbug in a unused USB port (so without a cable). I never tried that, but as you can see it is not only for a digital signal as you said.
how to make a $39 device sound like a $1000 setup by adding about $600 worth of gear lol
Good idea about Jitterbug.. there's also two other ways to improve Chormecast audio. One is to go into the chormecast via ethernet cable instead of wifi using an adapter.. John Darko has an article about that on his site. Second, the toslink output can be cleaned up with the ifi spdif purifier.. Not sure which is the biggest bang for the bucks specially if you end up using a battery pack.
Thanks for adding this information. Much appreciated.
What is the jitterbug thing?
Ethernet is useful depending how far one is from the main hub. Battery pack (DC) is definitely the way to go if one has no issue with recharging. If using ac and don't want to spend the bucks on the jitterbug, the use of ferrite rings will help kill noise/ improve jitter.
The jitterbug is not needed. The whole point of optical is to abandon the electrical connection for a light signal.
Those filters are a waste of money, as all audio equipment will have a filter circuit built into it as standard.
Just trying to save people some money.
Great video! I use mine as a roon endpoint & when using Google play music I made sure that high quality mode is enabled. Sounds really good going to my schiit modi multibit optical input.
Joe Ike A Roon endpoint. Wow, that’s interesting. It’s an amazing little gadget 😀 Thanks for watching 👍
Great video! I love all the ideas, but can you comment on the actual sound?
Thanks for the video. I connected my Chromecast Audio via optical to an SMSL Sanskrit 10th MkII then to a Parasound 2125 amp driving my Energy e:XL 28Ps. Now, no DSD or any high res music but just feeding the Sanskrit with the optical signal from a Chromecast Audio puck and that alone produces fabulous sound. The DAC is absolutely adequate but the difference from going straight from the CCA puck using 3.5 to RCA to the optical option with the Sanskrit is amazing. Also, I'm powering the Sanskrit with an IFI ipower 5v power supply.
I have been using a rig similar to this for nearly 3 years now. Initially a Chromecast Audio into a Chord Mojo, but more recently into an Arcam rDac.
The little Chromecast is the best piece of hifi I have ever purchased. I got mine for around £20 before they shot up in value. If you are lucky (and patient) you can pick them up on various selling sites for as little as £10. I use mine with Roon and my own FLAC library of 44.1-96khz 24 bit files. The onboard DAC is ok but its let down by a pretty poor output stage. It sounds ok but not amazing. The jewel in the crown is that optical output so you can use a better DAC and output stage. I wanted a standalone DAC that had a good well built twin RCA output stage, and opted for an Arcam rDac as they are only around £100. I am also a fan of Wolfson DAC chips, but this is purely personal preference.
In nearly 3 years I haven't found a better solution to streaming than this when considering the performance to price ratio.
Yes, this thing is unbeatable as far as price performance goes. And the optical out makes it very flexible.
- Thanks for watching 👍🔊☕️
Very interesting !! May I ask you if you know if playing at 24 bit if the quality of the signal is still good? Can you significantly lose quality in this wireless system? I will install soon a DAC with a PC as source and I will mostly go for this solution...Thank you in advance
Mattia Stefani Hi, I did not encounter any loss of quality when playing 24 bit. However, when your wireless connection is not strong enough you can get dropouts.
- What PC an DAC are you going to use?
Thank you for watching.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Thanks for answering, good to know.. I have iMac by Apple but still no idea about DAC I am going to install... I am firstly looking for a way to avoid wires since iMac and DAC will be not close (around 4 meters). Regarding the poor wireless connection that could occur, here maybe the alternative Yamaha WXAD-10 should be better since has ethernet port?? Thanks a lot, greetings from Italy
I bought on, it was a big luck cause it's hard to find in my country nowaday. Bluetooth doesn't have a good quality.
Rogerio Duarte Hi, what do you mean by, Bluetooth doesn’t have a good quality?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Bluetooth is compressed. Chromecast isn't.
@@AntPDC I guess the confusion is that I called the little loudspeaker in the video a Bluetooth loudspeaker. I did not mean it as a Bluetooth connection. The Chromecast Audio does not do Bluetooth
Your fancy DAC has optical in, it must have an optical out to plug into your amplifier' optical in ? Is that a better choice seeing most amps have optical in ?
@@johncoscia5258 Hi, thanks for your comment.
I am not sure why a fancy DAC would have a digital output (it’s purpose is to change digital into analog),
but if the DAC inside your amp is of better quality you should definitely connect the Chromecast directly to your amp.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 My Chromecast 3 not audio only has a HDMI out and is my best streaming option.So i got this from ebay, 4K HDMI to HDMI Extractor Converter Optical Toslink SPDIF + 3.5mm Audio RCA. l obviously use the optical digital out and into my Denon AVR. It's very good for the price. l can't get any eq on my PC to work with chromecast and Tidal free won't completely connect so it's Utube music , thanks .
What is the benefit of using a Jitterbug on a battery driven powerbank ? ( Battery is always clean power signal )
There isn’t. This was a mistake on my part
DAC in the chromecast is a pretty decent one already. Im using it with 2 rca plugs and it sounds fine on a Denon amp with high dynamic range setting enabled.
djaxe32 The Chromecast on it’s own is indeed pretty good. And if you want to make it even better, you can. Thanks for watching.
My Chromecast is built into my AV-receiver so I guess there's nothing I can do to improve the audio quality while casting to it?
Mityah Hi, you can’t do some of the things from the video of course, but here are some suggestions:
- If possible use it wired instead of over WiFi.
- The chromecast I use in the video has a setting for full dynamic range. Make sure it’s turned on in the software.
- Use good source material (no mp3 for example).
- Then there is of course the things that you can do with your receiver like better power, better cables, a good rack or a better external DAC and so on.
Enjoy and thanks for watching 👍
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Thank you, I will definitely try to fulfill each of those tips if possible and investigate further. All this audio-stuff is taking my puny brain a long time to understand so I really appreciate all these videos on the matter 👍
Mityah Thanks man, your feedback is much appreciated 😀👍
Use a decent power bank between the plug and the Chromecast...something regulated.
I've got the Redmi 10000mah 18w power bank with two USB outputs, one powering the Chromecast and the other powering a cheap SMSL Sanskrit 10th V2 DAC...this gives you 24/96 (Chromecast limitation)
However....it's slightly cheaper to just get a Yamaha WXAD-10 which gives you full 24/192 and tbh, sounds better.....if you can put up with Musicast
Nice video.
I made a chromecast audio using a normal chromecast and a hdmi splitter box I had lying around. I think it has lpcm out 24bit 192khz
Anthony Steele That’s interesting. Never thought of that. Thanks for the tip.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 I just got a chromecast audio and the original chromecast using a the hdmi splitter box sounds a lot better :D . It's a bad product friend unless you're using optical maybe.
Anthony Steele For the price I think it does a wonderful job. You have to put it on full dynamic range though. If you use optical it is just a streamer throughput.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Its not worth the 60 dollars 2nd hand that I paid for it. Returning immediately.
Anthony Steele Where did you buy it? It was €39,- here. New.
When connecting the Chromecast to the dac, does it get power from the dac?
No. No power is sent through the toslink.
I have one question, mayby somebody could help me?
Is it possible to hear Tidal files in Master quality if i use the Tidal App on my Phone and connect it to this Setup?
Hi, the Chromecast audio does not do MQA but it will play 24/96 files.
- Hope this helps. Let me know if it works
The Music Fidelity V-DAC II is a very good DA converter. BUT the Jitter Bug is imo completely unnecessary, cause the chromecast only sends digital data to the VDAC. I mean there are no "good" or "bad" zeros and ones if you understand, it's just digital data. So it is technically impossible that this could have any effect on the sound.
What COULD have an effect is a good power supply to the V-DAC!
Hi, thanks for your comment. However, you may have overlooked that the jitterbug is not in the digital path.
- And yes, there are no 'bad' zero's. But how the equipment handles the digital signal can influence the quality (meaning quality of the design, components, power and so on).
Hi, does this Audiophile Chromecast support AirPlay? Is it possible to stream music via iPhone from Apple Music?
Hi, I don’t use Apple Music, but Apple and Google are not friends.
- Chromecast enabled apps will work on an iPad, but Airplay is not supported.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 thx mate!
U can stream apple music from an android phone to the chromecast....and it's lossless
Not need cleaner with the battery
Only realised that later. My bad. Thanks for your comment
Hey, Can you recommend an alternative device like Chromecast Audio?
Hi, unfortunately I don’t know of any device, at this price point, that is comparable today. Sorry.
Very nice....
Just wondered, what is the model of the Anker power pack that you are using?
And does it output the correct voltage for the Chromecast.
Thanks in advance.
All USB works 5V, no problem
@@JuanDavilaR Thanks
Does anyone have evidence that the jitterbug changes the actual ones and zeros coming out of the chromecast?
Hi, I don’t know if I understand your point. Who says the jitterbug changes ones and zeros?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 it would have to in order to make any difference on a digital signal
@@thegrimmer You got the purpose of the jitterbug wrong.
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Please explain then. As I understand, it's an RF noise filter for USB power sources which should supposedly improve sound quality. I'm just saying I don't buy that claim unless there's a reasonable explanation for how RF noise is flipping zeros and ones in the digital signal out. Analog is another story
@@thegrimmer As you said it is intended to filter out noise (that is the claim). It is not intended to change ones and zeros.
- If you change the ones and zeros you change the music, how can that be the intended use?
- RF noise does not flip ones and zeros. You are confused about claims that are not being made.
How is the quality of the DAC chipset inside this Audio Chromecast and how it compares to other DACs like the budget Topping E30??
you lost me at audioquest, is this a commercial?
Lost how?
Lost me at this is the cable. The cable costs more than the GCCA itself. Overkill. LOL jitterbug on a battery, really on DC current, can you even really hear a difference. Humans after 40 start losing spectrum, do you think these things make any difference from regular cables, don't mean cheap more like bluejeans or Monoprice. Finally with headphones the internal dAC is ok. nahhh you contradict yourself. .
Ismael Martinez Just showing you the possibilities. That’s all.
there's a Chromecast audio alternative?
At this price? Not that I’m aware of. What are you looking for?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 tks 4 yours answer, a Chrome audio alternative
Estuardo My pleasure. You could go for a Yamaha WXAD-10 (at 4 times the price). Next is Sonos, followed by Bluesound. The chromecast is really special for it’s price. Question: Why do you want an alternative?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 i round this www.arylic.com/collections/frontpage/products/up2stream-wifi-audio-receiver-module-dlna-airplay-analog-output?aff=4 , I think i'm going for this one
Estuardo Perfect. Let me know how it sounds please. I would like to hear from you.
Great information. I just subscribed. Keep up the good work.
Thank you and welcome 👍🔊☕
Thanyou very much great vid
How to play flac from my DLNA on Chromecast?
Ігор Громада Hi, your DLNA interface should have a setting that let’s you choose what device you want to stream your music to. What interface are you using?
I've a chromecast audio connected via toslink on my amp. You say you here improvement in sound using the jitterbug in the power line. What improvements do you mean? Is it a major difference?
Looking only at the jitterbug the difference is very small. Just a little less background noise. It is the accumulation of all the different steps that makes the difference. Thanks for watching.
Jitterbug does nothing to improve sound. Nothing !! Don’t waste your money.
Dave G Please explain!
Dave G ruclips.net/video/rRIt0BYAjTo/видео.html
- www.whathifi.com/audioquest/jitterbug/review
- So, what now?
@@theaudiophilebarista2424 i don't see any measurements on what Hifi . It's just a sales magazine. Show me the measurements to prove it does anything, as I have shown you some to show it does nothing. Nothing !!! Placebo effect.😀 what hi-fi, what a joke !!