Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

Anyone here have a Soundboks ?

That looks just the ticket - cheers!

Can you give me their details anyway?
Last time I use someone in Essex as I was local.
Thanks

No problem:

Stephen Horowitz
SH AUDIO LTD.
Hi fi, Audio Repairs and Restoration Specialist.
Registered Company since 2010

Flat B, Corona Court, 37 Ashley Lane, Hendon, London, NW4 1HH

stephen.horowitz@gmail.com
Registered Company.
+44 (0) 0208-202-8553
+44 (0) 7956-467184

my amp has a port
Your amp’s DAC is likely to be better than that in the Chromecast

Facepalm.gif

It was digital out, not digital in. Probably explains why I didn't try it 3 yrs ago when I got the chromecast. At least I checked before ordering things. I really don't belong in this thread do I 😉

So 2nd hand Chromecast audios are going for £70 on eBay.

Any simple alternatives?

A mere 6 posts up:

https://www.lfgss.com/comments/15061280/

You could output the Chromecast to an inexpensive DAC like this one, but you might not get a hugely noticeable improvement, or go for something posher for nicer sound. https://www.futureshop.co.uk/blustream-dac12au-digital-to-analogue-converter-dac-simultaneous-analogue-and-digital-output?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9J3OwO2F5wIVhLTtCh2QPgbvEAQYBCABEgInEvD_BwE

Yeah but no but yeah but no but...

I'm smelling a new amp somewhere along the horizon. Maybe.

I reckon the chromecast dac is pretty good.

i think i mentioned up ^^^^^there that i have a chifi valve dac with a nos valve. it is very good and worth a look for anyone that wants a good dac for not a lot of money. i have an EE minimax on loan that is probably 5x the rrp and it is not a huge leap on from mine.

link plz?

So 2nd hand Chromecast audios are going for £70 on eBay.

Really? I'm glad I bought two spares when Google announced they were stopping them.

Depending on the model, you could try ARS (http://www.amprepairservices.co.uk/) in Suffolk. He did a great job on my old Cyrus Two.

Twitter link

Thanks. A85 isnt on the list. Plus Suffolk is a bit far from south London

oh, sorry dude - i missed this.

it is a Xiang Sheng DAC01a. i have a we nos valve in mine.

if you want to try it, let me know.

Got a nice set up going cheaps in the classifieds if anyone is interested

Chromecast Audio has a really surprisingly good DAC. Read this if you want the whole nine yards.

No worries! Cheers dude!

Found the exclusive mode setting on Tidal which bypasses all your device’s own sound processing software. The light on the DAC dropped from 96khz to 41khz but the detail in the sound jumped up several notches. Seems that the MacBook upsamples the stream but in doing so muddles the sound. Worth having a look at.

Bit like this little icon in JRiver Media Player. When the blue cog is illuminated all is well!

I don’t get what the upscaling is for. Is it a compatibility thing? Anyway it’s become clear that stated bitrates on equipment and streams count for very little by the time it gets to your ears.

Tbh I only just noticed that when I posted the pic.

I don't think it really is upscaling. I might see if I can find out why it claims 32bit output, despite saying "no changes are being made".

Anyhow. It sounds fucking rad and that's a great album as well.

Oh yeah 32bit. I guess that’s the file itself, does your kit support that or does the dac decode it to 24bit? I’ve found that so much depends on the original production meaning there’s a big spectrum of clarity on both 16/44 and 24/96 that there’s not much use paying attention to it.

I’m really enjoying this setup. I’m in that new-kit period where I’m listening much more to the sound than the music so I’m looking forward to getting past that but it’s just great being able to stream an almost limitless selection of music in properly exciting quality.

Now looking into portable DACs and open backed headphones for late night listening on the sofa. Chorus Mojo and Grado SR325s are now saved in my eBay search.

don't use optical out on a mac, it is jittery