TooMany45s
New Member
So a bit ago I posted a thread asking for some advice to fix a couple issues I was having with Spotify/Chromecast Audio, and I didn't get any responses, so I decided to make some adjustments and share my experience in the event anyone else might be in the same boat.
My previous streaming setup included a Chromecast Audio running through a Topping D50 DAC and out to my SX-950. While the sound quality was fine for me, I was having lots of weird issues with the Spotify app running through the Chromecast, namely lots of dropouts. The Topping would get confused when the dropouts occurred and it would end up terminating my listening session, and I would need to re-pair the Chromecast with my phone. Aside from this issue, there were some other weird quirks, like the volume slider would disappear from my phone and I would have to force stop the app and reopen, and even then there was no guarantee that it would function as intended. Spotify also doesn't support gapless playback via Chromecast, which I thought wouldn't be a big deal, but it ended up being quite annoying.
My first attempt at fixing the issues was to try another streaming service(Google Play Music) with the Chromecast to see if things would resolve themselves. I also added an ethernet adapter to the mix to see if there were any weird wifi issues going on. I have Google Fiber gig, so speed isn't an issue. Google Play music had a difficult time staying connected to the Chromecast as well and I was getting frequent 'Your google play music service is being used on another device' error and I would need to reconnect.
I decided to scrap the Chromecast Audio and Google Play music and start fresh. I went with a Bluesound Node 2i and a trial of Deezer. Immediately I noticed a substantial uptick in audio quality. Things started to sound a lot more open and rich. The app for the Bluesound is really really nice and easy to use. The integration of Deezer into the app is smooth and seamless. I also like being able to go directly to TuneIn to listen to local radio. I put the BlueOS app on an old Amazon Fire tablet and it makes things easy when guests want to pick out some tunes. I've found the selection on Deezer to be adequate, and I was surprised to find a couple of records on Deezer that weren't available on Spotify. Easily enough content to stream when I don't feel like putting on a record or a reel. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the Spotify app for discovering music and making playlists, but it's not enough for me to go back. I may end up trying it again with the Node, but for now I'm pretty happy with this combo.
I have had zero tech issues since making the change, and worth every penny for getting rid of my headaches. I have enough to deal with on my vintage gear, the last thing I needed was to have issues with the one thing in my setup that's supposed to be easy and hassle-free.
My Chromecast Audio now lives in the bedroom, and it has no issues with Deezer. Go figure.
If anyone is considering moving to a Bluesound Node, I can't recommend it enough. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'm happy to help!
My previous streaming setup included a Chromecast Audio running through a Topping D50 DAC and out to my SX-950. While the sound quality was fine for me, I was having lots of weird issues with the Spotify app running through the Chromecast, namely lots of dropouts. The Topping would get confused when the dropouts occurred and it would end up terminating my listening session, and I would need to re-pair the Chromecast with my phone. Aside from this issue, there were some other weird quirks, like the volume slider would disappear from my phone and I would have to force stop the app and reopen, and even then there was no guarantee that it would function as intended. Spotify also doesn't support gapless playback via Chromecast, which I thought wouldn't be a big deal, but it ended up being quite annoying.
My first attempt at fixing the issues was to try another streaming service(Google Play Music) with the Chromecast to see if things would resolve themselves. I also added an ethernet adapter to the mix to see if there were any weird wifi issues going on. I have Google Fiber gig, so speed isn't an issue. Google Play music had a difficult time staying connected to the Chromecast as well and I was getting frequent 'Your google play music service is being used on another device' error and I would need to reconnect.
I decided to scrap the Chromecast Audio and Google Play music and start fresh. I went with a Bluesound Node 2i and a trial of Deezer. Immediately I noticed a substantial uptick in audio quality. Things started to sound a lot more open and rich. The app for the Bluesound is really really nice and easy to use. The integration of Deezer into the app is smooth and seamless. I also like being able to go directly to TuneIn to listen to local radio. I put the BlueOS app on an old Amazon Fire tablet and it makes things easy when guests want to pick out some tunes. I've found the selection on Deezer to be adequate, and I was surprised to find a couple of records on Deezer that weren't available on Spotify. Easily enough content to stream when I don't feel like putting on a record or a reel. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the Spotify app for discovering music and making playlists, but it's not enough for me to go back. I may end up trying it again with the Node, but for now I'm pretty happy with this combo.
I have had zero tech issues since making the change, and worth every penny for getting rid of my headaches. I have enough to deal with on my vintage gear, the last thing I needed was to have issues with the one thing in my setup that's supposed to be easy and hassle-free.
My Chromecast Audio now lives in the bedroom, and it has no issues with Deezer. Go figure.
If anyone is considering moving to a Bluesound Node, I can't recommend it enough. Let me know if you have any specific questions and I'm happy to help!