I myself have the Chromecast audio and Chromecast 3 and in terms of sound they really can not match the volumio player, not even with a good power supply behind it or the use of a mini toslink to external dac. In terms of design, the Chromecast is indeed simpler and therefore easier to operate, for me sound is more important and in that respect the choice was quickly made for me. and so everyone has their own favorite.
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When using a google chromecast, don’t use the analog Output at chromecast! Get a TOSLink miniplug cable and a DAC! Sounds better! Using volumio needs more money but sounds much better! Volumio / a needed RaspberryPi has “built in” chromecast! You can play music in the chromecast-way! But for better sound you need more money… That’s it, you can’t change that.
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I have three CCA and a couple of google speakers. The only function I can reliably use them for is internet streaming. The value of a Raspberry plus Volumio is playing local files, bluetooth and internet - all three functions in one box. So for me Chromecast is limited to seasonal setups and background party music.
I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not here to convince anyone of anything. The best solution is the one that meets your needs best and we’re all different that way. I’m merely offering another perspective for any other reader who would be interested in, before they arrive at their decision to go whichever way.
The reason for my decision to use Volumio over Chromecast, I’m simply tired of major manufacturers dictating when it is time to upgrade hardware in a regular and wasteful manner. Whether it is an all 'round media player or a dedicated audio player, I don’t want to have to change my hardware every few years to support the next iteration of software or OS required to drive that software. For example, I use my phones until they drop dead and I can’t repair them any further. I build computers that will last me for at least six years before I need to consider an upgrade.
In the media space, it just got tiresome after the second Android box.
In the audio space, it got very tiresome after all the money I spent on a nice looking Denon DNP-720AE for simply playing my FLACs, only to have its firmware support go down the toilet in typical Denon style, while the overall features fell way behind the rest of the market’s advancements not long after.
Since then, I’ve been attracted to open source ecosystems and Volumio fits the bill for me very nicely. My seven year old Denon amp supplies the power to a Raspberry Pi via its USB interface, I feed the audio into the amp via SPDIF and Volumio is tapped into my NFS share on my NAS.
Turn on the amp, Volumio is already running because the Denon USB is always on even in standby, call up my interface on the phone or PC, browse, play, add to playlist on the fly, etc. It fits my simple needs beautifully. I don’t care for voice commands, I’m happy to use my fingers and aside from my smartphone, I don’t want to add any more spy devices to my ecosystem.
With the ongoing development work that the guys are putting into Volumio, I’m confident that I’ll have a product that will move along with the times without having to shell out for new hardware every couple of years. I’m not a tree-hugging hippie but I am a fan of not being so wasteful.
Hopefully that helps any reader still sitting on the fence. At the end of the day, try them both and be your own judge. Only you know what you need for a satisfactory result.
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I hope not to be OT, but can you reference links that address DIY implementations like these with a tutorial approach or step-by-step guide?
I have only found things like “you will simply need a X volt supply board, an isolator board, a XYZ_FIFO board…”
I have always wondered if these come with datasheets/connection schemas or if getting those I would be left with “well, now what?”
And I also don’t know if these boards may have compatibility issues with Volumio or if that only happens with DACs and their supported streaming decoding options.
I have adapted this logitech duet according to the site lampizator, there is also described how to do this (see link)
http://lampizator.eu/lampizator/Squeezebox/squeezebox.html
I also had a 12 volt linear powerboard myself that I adjusted a bit so that 9 volts comes out and that is exactly what the duet needs in terms of volts.
the raspberry pi has picoreplayer as software with a regular 5 volt power supply.
pay attention
Be careful with the removal of resistor R102 soldering from the XILINX, it will break if you solder it too hot and it will then be almost impossible to solder pin 3 to the XILINX.
the toslink output also no longer worked for me after the modification, I don’t know how this broke, maybe I hit something on the board.
by the way this duet streamer does not work with volumio, only with the volumio LMS (logitech media server) plugin and from there you can configure the duet.
I have a rather advanced hi-fi and took CAA to it’s limit, LAN connection box and modding to give it good linear power.
I use Qobuz and cast to CCA.
It sings in comparison then, but really sings if you reclock it with some serious kit.
CCA has jitter! Lots of it!
Enter Mutec reclocker! Only trouble is CCA has a well known fault that causes dropouts into some DACs.
Google didn’t get around to fixing it before the CCA plug was pulled.
Mutec reclocker was doing ‘the same’ as some DACs for me. So great sound on CD quality, terrible dropouts on 24/96.
I could set the limit to 16/44 and have no dropouts though.
So I carry on using Qobuz at upto 24/192, Volumio, RPi and Kali reclocker. I2S into my DSP system/DAC.
Sound quality is right up there.
I have the same opinion as Nettuno. CCA fits my listening scenario better than Volumio.
I have an Android smartphone and want to use it to drive my stereo. I currently use a CCA because it allows me to directly cast from a source of my choice, e.g. the Tidal app, to my stereo. This is very convenient.
Volumio is great and has many interesting features but is less convenient for my use. I have cast music from Tidal to Volumio, but it was a hassle to have to use a third party app such as Bubble UPNP. It detracted from simply enjoying the music.
Volumio implements DLNA renderer and Airplay for casting, but CCA implementation is missing to support all the apps out there that only cast to CCA. Thus it would be great if Volumio implemented CCA, perhaps as a paid feature (to fund its development).
PS: I know there is a Tidal integration in Volumio, but frankly, I prefer using the native app.
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Chromecast Audio is something we want to integrate since many years. However, to implement it, we are required to use a very specific chipset and go trough a big ODM integrator… Hence no Raspberry PI support…
This is quite a bummer but that’s how it is…
Rule is: if its not integrate into Volumio, it’s because either we did not get SDK or authorization to implement it 
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Before my Volumio on Rpi + Hifiberry Digi to my DAC/amp, I was streaming Spotify with CCA and the optical output : I do not recommend.
You can use CCA in many ways that might work for you, but doing so with Spotify resulted in awful sound quality. It is not using “Spotify Connect”, but Chrome Cast, and on top of that CCA is compressing the sound when it transcodes it from Ogg Vorbis.
Terrible sound quality, which is what made me switch to Volumio + RPI
If using an external DAC how would using a Chromecast affect the sound quality?
I have Chromecasts just about everywhere, including one plugged into the same DAC as my volumio pi. This allows me to use the same DAC and analog stages when an app doesnt support streaming through volumio.
What is missing is the ability for Volumio to output to my DAC and the other rooms since other rooms (like my front porch) only support Chromecast. I have to output via Chromecast to use multi-room functionality.
Doesnt make sense. Its not gonna transcode it. It would just decompress it and send to the DAC. It shouldnt affect the sound at all
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Because it’s not about the DAC, it’s about the CCA sending very low bitrate files when using Spotify.
Again, only for Spotify, without Volumio involved. I was just explaining why I switched to my current setup. This was highly noticeable and has been documented.
edit, look at the “solution” here : Solved: Chromecast Bitrate - The Spotify Community
CCA is not using “Spotify connect”, which would be 320kbps at least. It’s using a gimped version of “Cast”, which means you get low quality streams, in 256.
A DAC won’t create hi-rez files out of thin air. If the source is low quality, the DAC will work with that and won’t make it sound good magically. smh…
So, its a Spotify problem. Not the fault of the Chromecast.
I have just discovered volumio software for my audiophonics-device and for now I am really exited. Just plug and play (except the NAS connection). I was using M2P before and this was very annoing. The hardware quality is excellent and the music sounds better than CD! With volumio I can enjoy high-end Stereo at its best, no question.
BUT
I would like to watch movies with a beamer (via chromecast) AND have a good sound via hifi stereo at the same time. Without a cable connection from pc to the raspdac, of course. I have tried SWYH and it is terrible. I can’t immagine that CCA is that bad, primare is building high-end Amplifiers with CCA streamer.
So, is it possible to plug in a Cromecast-stick into the HDMI interface of the volumio, and to use it as input? Each music from the PC could be streamed in a quite good quality.
And you won’t need an authorisation to switch HDMI from output to input, I think. Yust pick up the audio signals for free.
Yust an idea.