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Ancient hi fi amp for teenage Xmas?

wulbert

wulbert

pfm Member
My 15yr old nephew loves music, but I've recently discovered that he listens to it via a £15 bluetooth speaker thing.

I was wondering if I could give my ancient Arcam Delta 60 amp and Wharfdale Diamond 3 speakers for Xmas, along with some type of gadget that would allow him to use his phone as a wireless source.

My budget is about £20-£30 odd for said gadget. I'm not sure what I need to buy though? It would need to be able to plug into the amp via an RCA input.
Does anyone have experience of this type of thing, what their called and any recommendations.

Another related point; which input on the amp would be best for said device?
 
If he's streaming from an android or iPhone then a Chromecast Audio, a 3.5mm to RCA cable plus a free app.

It's a pain to get it to work from a PC, but from a phone or tablet, it works brilliantly.
 
For that budget, a Chromecast Audio has to be the answer. I'm not convinced the sound quality will do justice to the amp and speakers, but for that sort of money, there are limits to what you can expect. You'll need a 3.5mm jack to 2 x phono lead.
 
wulbert said:
Another related point; which input on the amp would be best for said device?
Click to expand...

Any line level input will be fine. I use my Chromecast through my Tuner input, because I mostly use it to stream R6, but it sounds exactly the same through the AV/DVD, VCR (yes, really) or CD inputs. Amp is an Arcam Alpha 8r/8p combo, so the Delta 60 should sound somewhat similar, if not better, given half decent source material, of course.
 
Thanks for all he suggestions folks. Looks like the Chromecast is a bit of a favourite. So I'll have a look at it. Tempting to spend more money for better sound, but it should be a big step up from the boom box. (always amazes me that some young 'uns are happy to listen to music they love from a £500 phone on a £20 piece of rubbish audio gear).
I wouldn't know what to look for in terms of the spec of a bluetooth receiver to give good audio. I suppose the simple answer is more ££=better sound.

I'll avoid the Phonogram MM/MC input then, but others should be OK? I was a bit worried by a story an audio repair man told me about someone blowing a string of hi-fi amps by playing their iPhone through it via 3.5mm jack to audio input. The Chromecast should be less risky though because I guess it will operate at line-level output?
 
To be fair the Chromecast sets itself up, and sounds bloody brilliant even in a decent system, especially when Toslinked to a DAC.
 
kennyh said:
To be fair the Chromecast sets itself up, and sounds bloody brilliant even in a decent system, especially when Toslinked to a DAC.
Click to expand...

'Toslinked to a DAC' would certainly be worthwhile, but with a budget of £20 to £30, the Chromecast alone is not only the best, but pretty much the only sensible solution I can think of.
 
Whatsisnaim said:
'Toslinked to a DAC' would certainly be worthwhile, but with a budget of £20 to £30, the Chromecast alone is not only the best, but pretty much the only sensible solution I can think of.
Click to expand...

Yep, just googled the cheapie Berhinger 202 which does a decent job. Sadly it's toslink out only :(
 
Can't see the Chromecast gadget for sale on Amazon. Strange. Are they refusing to stock items which are in competition with their own gear? Very poor.
 
wulbert said:
Can't see the Chromecast gadget for sale on Amazon. Strange. Are they refusing to stock items which are in competition with their own gear? Very poor.
Click to expand...


They won't sell it apparently. Probably because of the firestick I presume. I noticed that too when I was searching for one. Small minded or sensible business heads I don't know.
 
For less than £30, the Chromecast will be hard to beat (wireless, easy integration with Android and -to a good degree- iPhones), etc.

The Behringer 202 will be hard to use (wired only, not supported by many phones, etc.)

The only alternative worth considering (for a bit more money) is a Raspberry Pi3 (for its Wifi function), but once adding a case, power supply, microSD memory card and possibly a dedicated DAC (such as the £12 IQ Audio Pizero... which works well with the Pi3 and is the cheapest option), you'll be nearing 2x the budget. It can work as a Chromecast device (or Apple AirPlay) as well as a standalone music streaming device, but requires some setup skills to install and configure it properly.
 
The Chromecast blurb says "stream music to your speakers" and "...cast your tunes to the best speakers in the house.

I assume they are using "speakers" as shorthand for amplified or active speakers?
 
Sorry for being thick. How is the Chromecast powered? Blurb says "Supports the standard 5 V, 1 A power supply"

Does this mean it needs to be powered from a USB port, or does it come with a standard 3pin UK plug with USB ended power supply cable like an iPhone?
 
That appears to be Bluetooth receiver. I would go with a WiFi option like the Chromecast by preference.
When they talk about speakers, yes, they mean amp and speakers.
 
Ah, ok. I've clearly misunderstood.
The Chromecast uses your wi-fi network to stream to the amp? I thought it was bluetooth.

Is Bluetooth generally inferior audio to wi-fi networking?
 
The Chromecast Audio (what we're discussing here, rather than the 'Video' version), comes with a small wall wart which connects to the device via an -included- USB cable.

It does use WiFi (either relaying audio from the phone, or streaming directly from the internet -using the phone only to control playback in this case)... and, yes, WiFi is better than Bluetooth in practice.
 
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