Chromecast vs DLNA (WiiM Home app, etc.)

[onlyoneme]

Volume at 100%, no EQ, digital output. Chromecast tested with LMS.

Both ways give a fully transparent output in the frequency domain, no audio alteration at all.
It looks different in case of time domain.

Two songs, the same sample rate and bit depth - 96/24.

Case 1 - second song.

Beginning:


Gapless playback was not working for chromecast. The chromecast song is faded at the beginning.

Ending:


The chromecast song is faded at the end.


Case 2 - first song, beginning of the stream.


Beginning:


The chromecast song is slightly faded at the beginning.
WiiM app song is highly faded at the beginning when a new stream starts.

Ending:


The chromecast song is slightly faded at the end.

 

[D1N0]

I can hear a difference between the WIIM app and casting and DLNA over BubbleUpnp. Casting gives me a more relaxed less sibilant sound signature. More so than the App or UpnP (I think UpnP is a tad less sibilant though). Maybe Roon when it arrives will give even better results. For a good audio experience I will be using Qobuz's App with chromecast instead of the WIIM app. Higher bitrate doesn't really matter when the presentation is not good.

 

[onlyoneme]

I can hear a difference between the WIIM app and casting and DLNA over BubbleUpnp. Casting gives me a more relaxed less sibilant sound signature. More so than the App or UpnP (I think UpnP is a tad less sibilant though). Maybe Roon when it arrives will give even better results. For a good audio experience I will be using Qobuz's App with chromecast instead of the WIIM app. Higher bitrate doesn't really matter when the presentation is not good.

Audio stream is the same when using WiiM Home app as a controller and any other UPnP controller (Bubble for example) as long as no audio processing is involved when third party controller is used.

 

[D1N0]

My guess is the chromecast protocol is a more efficient decoder than the WIIM's Less processing noise causing jitter.

 

[onlyoneme]

Chromecast is not related to any decoding. The same flac content for example can be fetched over DLNA and over chromecast.

 

[Brantome]

Is the Google Home/Assistant app applying some sort of EQ to that chromecast device?

 

[D1N0]

Still it sounds different. Chromecast is a more relaxed balanced sound. I go crazy when there is too much sibilance. Google home app doesn't do anything. It can't even change volume when I lock it in the WIIM. The home app can only do treble and bass adjustments on de Chromecast audio dongle. Casting isn't implemented in the WIIM Mini, so there must be some hardware requirement.

 

[onlyoneme]

Is the Google Home/Assistant app applying some sort of EQ to that chromecast device?

When? Those apps are not involved when you share some content in LMS and instruct the Pro over chromecast to play it.

 

[Brantome]

I was only asking on the basis of my early experiences with the Pro before the WiiM App's EQ was implemented for ChromeCast when I was told by WiiM that the Google app could be used for that, and given the earlier comment about a 'better audio experience' using Chromecast for Qobuz.

 

[onlyoneme]

Google Home app was able to set the EQ for the Pro in early FWs. I do not see such opportunity now.

 

[Brantome]

Google Home app was able to set the EQ for the Pro in early FWs. I do not see such opportunity now.

OK, I hadn't checked to see if that had been removed