Raspberry Pi server to multiple ChromeCast Audio devices

Tm33950

New Member
Hi -
New to the site and new to streaming audio, but I've been into hifi since the late '60s. Currently I'm setting up a semi-vintage system for the office, with a NAD 7140 (donated by a generous friend!) and Paradigm 3SE's, using ChromeCast Audio (CCA) as the source playing either Spotify or my own music.

To try out local streaming, I set up Windows 10 MediaPlayer to stream FLAC files (16/44 and 24/96) from my pc to the Chromecast Audio, controlling playback with BubbleUpnp on an Android phone and tablet, all connected via wifi to my home network. This setup works great but I'd like to eliminate the PC.

I considered plugging a USB drive full of FLAC files into my Xfinity router which has a USB port, but lots of forum posts seem to indicate the cable companies have turned off this port. I also don't think I want to buy a NAS drive with ethernet connection to the router unless It's cheaper than the approach below, since I only need 64GB and don't need redundancy.

So the plan is to set up a Raspberry Pi 3 to replace the PC, with the Pi hard wired (ethernet) to my Xfinity router, and with a 64GB USB stick full of FLAC files at 16/44 and 24/96 plugged into the Pi. The Pi hopefully will be able to stream at least two different audio files concurrently to at least two CCA's, but if multiple streams complicate things too much I can live without. I don't want a DAC on the Pi - I'll use multiple CCA's since I'm happy with both the analog and digital sound quality from it. After lots of time scouring the forums without figuring out how to set this up (but wow I've learned lots of new acronyms!) I decided to pose the questions directly to the experts who have done it already -

1. Am I correct thinking the only hardware I need is a Pi, the power brick, a microSd card for the OS, a USB stick for the FLAC files, and maybe a case? (Pi needs to be "headless")
2. What software should I put on the Pi to do this job?
3. Is there an app better than BubbleUpnp for the android phone or tablet?

Thanks in advance - I know I'm not the only person wanting to do exactly this with the hardware mentioned.
 
It sounds like you're on the right track. The hardware you mentioned should get the job done. I'm not an expert but I can share my experience.

There are several media server choices that you can run on your RPi3. I'm running Open Media Vault OS which includes the Plex media server. I went with OMV because it also turns your Pi into a NAS as an added bonus.

In the case of Plex, it can be controlled remotely either through a PC using a Chrome browser session or a mobile app such as the Plex app or Hi-Fi Cast for Android. I usually use Hi-Fi Cast because it supports gapless audio with the CCA.

I've never tried casting two streams simultaneously but I can do that tomorrow and let you know unless someone else knows off the top of their head.

I have attached an overview drawing of my current RPi3 setup for information.

Les.
 

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Just a thought about cost. How much will you actually spend on the pi with power supply case, storage etc before it is finished? I realised , for a still reasonable cost, I could just buy a cheap laptop , and I would have the benefit of a keyboard and screen making it easier to set up and maintain. These new ones with solid state drives and no fans, draw very little power, and you can just leave them on and use them as a network appliance, such as a media server. Of course you still also need a stick for the music media.
 
There are complete RPi3 kits on Amazon selling for $60 - $70 USD. These include the RPi3, case, power supply, heat sinks, SD card and HDMI cable.
 
You are correct about what you need regarding the Pi. To set up the Pi you will need a keyboard (usually wireless) and a TV with an HDMI connection. If you run LogitechMediaServer (LMS) with the Chromecast bridge enabled you will be able to run the same or different (or a combination of the 2) streams to your CCAs. Software wise you need the Pi's OS raspbian which you install via the NOOBS .iso image and LMS. Or you could install picoreplayer (an .iso image) and disable squeezelite (the player app) which will leave you with LMS. Orange Squeeze is a nice app for your android devices. I use Squeeze Commander which works well but hasn't been updated in years. FYI, enable the "Don't Stop The Music" plugin you won't regret it.
 
I can confirm that I was able to simultaneously stream two different 24/96 FLAC files from the RPi3 server to two stereos via CCA without any degradation in performance. Of course, one can always multicast one stream to several CCA's by setting up a Google Home Group.
 
Thanks for the assist - now to order the Pi since I'm confident it will do what I need. In the meantime I'll try BubbleUpnp as a server on an old Android tablet or phone - I didn't know (until playing with the app yesterday) that it could act as both controller and server on two different Android machines. Heck if my old HTC phone can take a 64GB micro SD that may do the whole job without a Pi - have any of you used Bubble with a phone or tablet serving the music? I'm enjoying tinkering with these CCA's and learning all the ways to feed them music - thanks to all of you for the insights.
 
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