Google Discontinues Chromecast Audio

Google has discontinued the Chromecast Audio dongle that allowed you to stream music via Wi-Fi to any dumb speaker with a 3.5mm headphone jack. If you're saddened by the news and would like to pick one up before they're completely gone, Google is now selling its remaining inventory for $15 instead of $35. TechCrunch reports: "Our product portfolio continues to evolve, and now we have a variety of products for users to enjoy audio," Google told us in a statement. "We have therefore stopped manufacturing our Chromecast Audio products. We will continue to offer assistance for Chromecast Audio devices, so users can continue to enjoy their music, podcasts and more."

Google is clearly more interested in getting people to buy its Google Home products and Assistant- or Cast-enabled speakers from its partners. It's also worth noting that all Google Home devices can connect to Bluetooth enabled speakers, though plenty of people surely have a nice speaker setup at home that doesn't have built-in Bluetooth support. "Bluetooth adapters suck," Google told us at the time, though at this point, it seems a Bluetooth adapter may just be the way to go.

Re:

[jrifkin]

I'm guessing that you don't have any friends?

https://youtu.be/Tjp5OmoDYQM?t... [youtu.be]

Re:

[Applehu Akbar]

Muh Headphone Jack!

I’m a Boomer, and I second this.I’m nostalgic about some vanished aspects of my youth, like few speech on college campuses, but tangled cords are not one of them.

Re:

[Applehu Akbar]

EDIT: ...free speech on college campuses.

Already out of stock

[jakedata]

Bummer, I could use another one. Nothing like listening to OK-ish digital music through four 7591a tubes. Friendly tube distortion mixed with digital artifacts. Sort of like crossing proton pack streams, might be "bad", or it might banish Zuul.

Re:Already out of stock

[jakedata]

Don't normally reply to AC but here you go...

1. Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE
2. BT range is ~10M at best, Chromecast uses WiFI/Ethernet
3. CC supports synchronous multiple endpoint streaming
4. CC supports guest streaming without pairing
5. CC lets you control playback from multiple devices

Re:

[msauve]

"Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE"

You've obviously never listened to AM/FM radio or 8-track/cassette tape. AAC or AptX really aren't bad, unless you're one of those who spends $2500 on a power cord. Or perhaps you're simply exaggerating.

"CC supports synchronous multiple endpoint streaming"

Do tell. Since you're someone who considers Bluetooth audio to be "TERRIBLE," what sort of phase jitter is present with multiple Ethernet endpoints?

Re:

[jakedata]

Oh, obviously.

AM/FM was degraded by the digital subchannels stealing bandwidth. 8-Track was a joke from day one and I still have a case of them along with a player and the splicing die because that's just how I roll.

As for phase issues, it's tough to tell when they are in different rooms, but you can adjust the delay in 1 ms increments if there's a problem.

Mostly I play old records unless I want background music around the house all day long. I still crank up the Victrola now and then for that genuine 1:1 u

Re:

[msauve]

"you can adjust the delay in 1 ms increments if there's a problem."

So, half wave @ 500 Hz. That must be great for the soundstage. I call bullshit for you even being able to tell the difference between FLAC/WAV and 128K MP3, let alone Bluetooth.

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[Chita Chijioke Charles]

how do u say terrible? Privacy Policy [wapnigeria.com]

Re:

[Applehu Akbar]

Don't normally reply to AC but here you go...

1. Bluetooth audio is TERRIBLE

I’m sure you can find an app that adds random hisses and pops to your Bluetooth audio, so it sounds like the formats you grew up with.

Re:

[PhrostyMcByte]

The coolest part about Chromecast Audio is that you can play lossless music and use optical-out into a nice DAC/amp for maximum quality.

I've got one, I'll probably order another from some store that has them in stock. Super bummed that this useful little gadget is gone.

Re:

[Krishnoid]

I was able to buy some just now.

Truth

[eclectro]

You know that a product has left Google beta and works perfectly, when Google decides to kill it outright

Re:Truth

[dmt0]

The real problem with this thing is that it doesn't have an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time. And it eats into the market of the devices that do.

Re:

[msauve]

"The real problem with this thing is that it doesn't have an always-on microphone that listens to you all the time."

Nothing a sewing needle and super glue can't fix, if you don't know how to solder.

Re:

[Fieryphoenix]

I don't think he's kidding, I just think he didn't include "the problem FOR GOOGLE WITH OFFERING IT".

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[zugmeister]

You may be surprised to learn these devices are always listening to you.
If they didn't do this they couldn't listen for the activation word.

Re:

[Sloppy]

Not really a point in chrome cast audio devices except for legacy hardware. The people that want to cast to legacy hardware aren't buying them anymore, they already have the ones they need and they're legacy hardware is most likely going to die before their chrome cast audio.

Obviously I can't speak for everyone, but in my case this legacy hardware is decades old and it will continue to be used for decades, because it sounds fucking incredible and was built before the current trend of everything immediately

So,

[BitztreamNotARealNam]

How's life in the hypocrite lane [slashdot.org]?

Re:

[willy_me]

The product is missing features compared to the more integrated solutions. The best solutions will generate their analog signal at full scale and then inform the amplifier how much the signal should be amplified. This provides maximum signal quality. This Google product generates an analog output but has no way of informing to the amplifier what the amplification should be. To adjust volume you have to decrease the amplitude of the signal which induces signal loss.

Users who want optimum signal qualit

Never seen one

[AndyKron]

I've never seen a speaker with a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Re:

[sobachatina]

The audio chromecasts also had optical output and adapters for RCA.
I love mine. I wish I would have known about this in time to buy some spares.

Re:Never seen one

[msauve]

It's the Chromecast which has the 3.5 mm headphone jack, which is also usable for line level audio. Use whichever commonly available cable you need to hook up to powered speakers - a 3.5 mm jack is common there, too.

Re:

[zugmeister]

JBL Flip 3 / Charge 3 and just about every $20 BT speaker on Amazon have 3.5 mm in jacks. Those tiny ones that accordion up "for bigger bass" mostly run off that jack as well. Don't all computer speakers use that plug by default as well?

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[dmt0]

Somehow 1 time out of 3 when I use bluetooth, it fails to connect giving me various excuses. Besides, AFAIK bluetooth is not lossless. Sure, shitty Chromecast puck is not gonna give you audiophile level quality, but at least there's not transcoding loss happening.

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[sobachatina]

A bluetooth dongle that seemlessly streams directly from the internet with no (extra) loss of quality and stays playing even when I leave with my phone?

Just admit it. A bluetooth dongle is nothing at all like the chromecast.

As for privacy- most people already use online music services so someone already knows what they listen to and when. You have to be especially paranoid to only play your own ripped, local, music because of privacy concerns.

Sadly the only problem with the product was the $

[DarkKaplah]

Sadly the only problem with the chromecast audio was the standard price. $35 was just too high. I got mine on a holiday sale last year for $15 with a discounted google home speaker. It let me upgrade me old yamaha 6.1 to allow easy streaming. I would have snapped up 4 more if the price was $15-$20 all the time. For $35 it was just too expensive for what it did. Honestly however if they add a 3.5 mm jack to the google home puck speaker I would get go that route.

Google canceling a product ? Surely not !

[Anonymous Coward]

I mean, it's not like Google has a long history of capriciously canceling products or anything of that sort

.

If after Google's long and dishonorable history of fucking over users you'd trust Google enough to use anything from Google, your ability to make intelligent decisions must be called into question in the most severe manner possible.

If you disagree, you're not only stupid, you're the worst kind of stupid, which is defined by a refusal to accept important new information because it might threaten your

Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecast?

[jrifkin]

I love my Chromecast audio. I use it with my 30 year old Sony receiver driving my 50 year old EPI speakers, serving up music from my Raspberry Pi running a minidlna server. Works great.

Does anyone know what it would take to rig a Google "Streaming Media Player" (i.e. the Video version with the HDMI output) to drive an old-school audio receiver?

Re:Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromecas

[jakedata]

Search for HDMI Audio Extractor. They are not especially expensive but it's another thing that you need to plug in.

Re:

[RDW]

Would it be easier to run a DLNA renderer on the Pi (or another Pi), add a DAC (HAT or USB), and plug it straight into the receiver?

Re: Replace Chromecast Audio with regular Chromeca

[jrifkin]

My question is hypothetical since my current Chromecast audio is still fine, but for the record my Raspberry pi "server" lives
  in the basement, while the receiver in upstairs in the living room.

Re:

[RDW]

Second RPi running the renderer for about the same price as a Chromecast?

There's an alternative that's still in production.

[b0s0z0ku]

https://www.amazon.com/YunList... [amazon.com]

YunListen adapter with a 3.5mm jack -- supports DLNA as well as direct music streaming from a NAS.

Re:

[Sloppy]

Though you're totally right about getting spied upon, it wasn't a walled garden. Chromecast was open enough that you could really use your way, instead of their way. Your own UI, your own controller, your own music storage. It doesn't lock you into anything, other than having to have some Android device around somewhere, for the initial installation. And after that, you don't even need Android if you don't want it. So it's more like a weird Google brick column in your garden, than like being trapped inside