Both players claim to be bit-perfect but the sonic differences are audible. The Google Chromecast Audio is supposedly bit-perfect but sounds completely different depending on the optical cable I use.

But when I change out a USB cable, the sound is transformed while the purple star still shines. Roon will let you know if a stream is bit-perfect with a little purple star. Is it possible for two bit-perfect players to sound different? Only in audio would a piece of software be called a hoax lol. I’m not one for drama and didn’t care to read any of the reports or test results. Essentially, I don’t really care which sounds best. Well – because I love you…I’ll dust off my old PC and do some digging.Īside from Roon, I haven’t used any of these players heavily nor do I plan to. I’ve been kindly asked by readers to compare these players. When I’m on the go, I just plug in my Chord Hugo 2 and stream off Spotify or Tidal. Understandably, there are plenty of audiophiles who use their Windows machines as their server/streamer.

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