Using Chromecast Audio for Music Streaming to a Smart TV

[Rowrbazzle]

I've just successfully downloaded Plex onto my computer and activated the Plex app on my Smart TV. Simple enough for the technologically literate, but for me, it was a major accomplishment. I'm a vintage audio guy -- and a "vintage" human. However, I now have a couple of hundred albums available for streaming. The Plex interface on the TV is a little slow, but there's no noticeable delay in the audio stream -- and the sound is decent, if not amazing.

So my question is this. What would I gain by installing a music streaming device such as Chromecast audio on the TV, and linking it to the Plex music manager on my computer? Speed? Audio quality? The price is right, but would there be any noticeable payback?

 

[Rex81]

The only benefit would be the interface. Instead of using the interface on your TV, you would use the interface on your computer. I assume your TV is hooked up to your receiver with HDMI, so it's sending a digital audio signal already. So no difference in sound quality. Only if you bought a separate DAC to run the Chromecast into using optical, then run that into your receiver would you possibly notice better sound quality.

 

[audiomagnate]

The problem is the noise introduced by the TV's DACs and/or analog section, which can be significant. I get a motorboating noise when using this setup.

 

[tyella]

If your music isn't in the Google Play universe, or you're not a subscriber to one of the digital services you probably won't get any benefit. I'm all in with the Google world and have uploaded all of my digital music to their service. For me, the Chromecast Audio is what I've been waiting for. If Plex is working and does what you want, just enjoy!