{"id":21188,"date":"2015-10-04T11:03:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-04T18:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/?p=21188"},"modified":"2015-10-04T11:03:48","modified_gmt":"2015-10-04T18:03:48","slug":"google-chromecast-audio-review-better-mousetrap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/reviews\/google-chromecast-audio-review-better-mousetrap\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Chromecast Audio Review: A Better Mousetrap"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The Bluetooth audio receiver has been a little cottage industry in recent years, and I\u2019ve reviewed my share of them (here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>). Bluetooth receivers are a cheap way to wirelessly stream music and audio from your smartphone to your existing stereo or powered speakers. On the other end of the spectrum, Sonos\u2014and to a smaller degree, Apple Airplay\u2014offer higher quality but more expensive options to stream music in your home.<\/p>\n

G<\/span>oogle\u2019s new Chromecast Audio sits somewhere in between those options, but closer in spirit and price point to the ubiquitous Bluetooth receiver. Priced at $35, it\u2019s ironically higher than most Bluetooth receivers, considering that Google\u2019s Chromecast streaming player (also $35) is considered the budget option in its product category.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be clear: the Chromecast Audio is way better than any and all the Bluetooth receivers out there. I think it will become the standard of wireless home audio, especially when its future support of multi-room audio arrives sometime down the line.\u00a0 <\/span>There is one small hitch to world domination that lies outside of Google\u2019s control: Apple Music doesn\u2019t work with the Chromecast Audio.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s right. Spotify, Google Music, Pandora and most of the major music streaming apps work with the Chromecast Audio\u2026except Apple Music (and also Amazon Music, but probably most people don\u2019t care about that). But this could change, as we saw back in June when Apple announced cross-platform support (Android, gasp!) for Apple Music. Just don’t hold your breath.<\/p>\n

\"Chromecast-Audio-unboxing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Unboxing and Setup<\/h3>\n

The Chromecast Audio comes in the same size box as the new Chromecast and also shares the new puck-shaped form factor. It measures about 2 inches in diameter and has narrow circular grooves on the top, resembling an old-school vinyl record. It\u2019s only available in black, unlike the second gen Chromecast which launched with three color options.<\/p>\n

\"Chromecast-Audio-ports\"<\/a>In the box, you\u2019ll also find a short yellow 3.5mm cable (just under 6 inches), the USB power cable and small power adapter. Or you can\u00a0bring your own RCA Y-cable or optical cable (Toslink to 3.5mm mini Toslink).<\/p>\n

The exterior of the Chromecast Audio has a small reset button and two ports: the micro USB port and the 3.5mm jack with analog and digital audio output.<\/p>\n

Setup takes anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes depending on your level of technical expertise. But not to worry: it\u2019s easy (and even easier if you\u2019ve already set up a regular Chromecast).<\/p>\n

Y<\/span>ou need to get the free Chromecast app on an Android<\/a> or iOS<\/a> phone or tablet. On a Windows PC, you can go to https:\/\/www.chromecast.com\/setup via the Chrome browser and download the Chromecast app. Windows phones and Macs are currently not supported.<\/p>\n

From the Chromecast app, you will be taken through the steps to find your Chromecast Audio via Bluetooth and then test the sound on it. After you\u2019ve verified the test sound, you\u2019ll name your Chromecast Audio and connect it to your Wi-Fi network, and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

Sound Quality and Play Options<\/h3>\n

It sounded pretty good right out of the gate. The audio quality immediately reminded me of AirPlay but with less dropouts. Welcome\u00a0news:\u00a0Chromecast Audio supports up to 24-bit\/96kHz audio (DVD quality).<\/p>\n

\"Chromecast-Setup-Screenshot\"<\/a>T<\/span>he Chromecast Audio streams audio over dual-band 802.11ac (2.5GHz\/5GHz) Wi-Fi. The bandwidth and range is far superior to Bluetooth\u00a0and it\u2019s less susceptible to interference.<\/p>\n

That said, there can be dropouts when you have heavy network traffic. I tested music streaming while sending files to the cloud, downloading a big file and backing up to a local network, and the audio dropped out for several seconds. It was an extreme test case, but something to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s great for home audio use because, unlike Bluetooth streaming, it won\u2019t interrupt your streaming for phone calls,\u00a0 <\/span>text sounds and other system audio.<\/p>\n

From the Chromecast app, you have the option of toggling High Dynamic Range for analog connections to hi-fi speakers and audio receivers. If you\u2019re using an optical connection, HDR is\u00a0the only setting.<\/p>\n

The Chromecast app on Android is currently packed with a lot more features compared to the iOS version (although those are \u201ccoming soon\u201d). From the Android Chromecast app, you can find content (\u201cWhat\u2019s On\u201d) and apps (\u201cGet Apps) that will utilize your new Chromecast Audio.\u00a0 <\/span>(On iOS you basically see a placeholder for your device.)<\/p>\n

\"Chromecast-Audio-feature\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

For Android and iOS users, the Chromecast Audio is a sleek\u00a0alternative to Bluetooth receivers that should only get better with more apps (and a better iOS Chromecast app), multi-room audio capabilities\u00a0and hopefully Apple Music support.<\/p>\n

It’s good if you plan\u00a0to have your devices farther away from the speakers and\/or if you need to make use of the guest mode where anyone can easily cast to your Chromecast Audio with no pairing required. With its support for higher quality audio, the Chromecast Audio is a better choice\u00a0for discerning audiophiles.<\/p>\n

And at $35, the Chromecast Audio\u00a0won’t set you back much more\u00a0than a typical Bluetooth audio receiver, but it has the potential to do a lot more.<\/p>\n

Keep your old Bluetooth audio receiver\u00a0for the car.<\/p>\n

Click Here to Search Ben’s for Chromecast Audio Deals<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bluetooth audio receiver has been a little cottage industry in recent years, and I\u2019ve reviewed my share of them (here, here and here). Bluetooth receivers are a cheap way to wirelessly stream music and audio from your smartphone to your existing stereo or powered speakers. On the other end of the spectrum, Sonos\u2014and to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[944,1384,103,625,102,1385],"class_list":["post-21188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-bluetooth-speaker-adapter","tag-chromecast-audio","tag-google","tag-google-chromecast","tag-splendiferous","tag-wireless-audio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21188"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21202,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21188\/revisions\/21202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bensbargains.com\/thecheckout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}