Replacement for Chromecast Audio

[havoc]

(Note I'm specifically asking about the (discontinued) audio-only wifi pass-through device, not the AV Chromecast)

So having just set-up the new kitchen with hidden wiring from the wall-mounted bookshelf speakers to a cabinet which will contain the amp and Chromecast Audio, the Chromecast starts acting up (it's been fine for years). Bloody typical...

...I've done some googling, but no-one seems to do anything similar without it costing £100 or more. For what Google were selling 5-8 years ago for about £30.

Any ideas / suggestions? Main use is going to be streaming audio from phone to amp. Can't be that niche a product, surely? Or do they expect us all to buy bloody Zeppelins or overpriced Sonos/Heos systems?
(And yes, I know about the WiiM, but the Mini would need a DAC to talk to my Cambridge amp, and the Pro is £150, which is my frustration)

Thanks,

Martin.

Edited by havoc on Friday 19th July 21:55

[outnumbered]

Lots of CCAs available on the bay for about 30 quid...

[peew]

I got a new old one recently for £35 on eBay.

I'd recommend buying one that someone has used more recently - it was a pain getting it to connect as the firmware was so old on mine.

Whilst I was looking for alternatives, a few posts on Reddit recommended this one

https://www.wiimhome.com/wiimmini/overview

[xtruss]

My work around when faced with the same issue, was to use a normal Chromecast I had lying about, and then plugged it into this and feed the rca output to the amp.. https://shorturl.at/XS8V1

[havoc]

outnumbered said:

Lots of CCAs available on the bay for about 30 quid...

I'm loath to buy 2nd hand electronics, as you've no idea if they'll work or how long they'll work for.

...and most i was seeing were c.£50, which is punchy pricing...

[Herr Schnell]

Another vote for picking one up used.

I've got two, both used from eBay. No issues in a couple of years of use with either of them.

[rodericb]

I found that the Chromecast Audio-alikes don't have Chromecast and yeah the Wiim mini apparently has a bit of a lacklustre DAC according to some reviewers. But then there are thousands of people around the world using the Wiim mini happily I expect.

If you've got an amp in a cupboard and that in itself requires some compromises to fit its form factor in you could look a combining the Chromecast with the amp by way of the Wiim Amp or any of the other products like it such as the Bose Amp, Marantz M1, Denon Home Amp, Russound MBX-AMP.... The Wiim Amp is by far the lowest priced of those streamer/amps.