Follow up:
I ended up getting a Topping E50 locally, just because I wanted to have a reference level, full featured DAC that had outboard volume controls and multiple input options.
Well, with my Chromecast Audio the E50 did great. Running in DAC mode and using the CCA for volume control I was happy as a clam, but I kept running into disconnection issues with the CCA and had it go to full volume unexpectedly causing me to nearly shit my pants; thank god I have my power amp attenuated!
So, I grabbed a raspberry pi I had lying around and put Volumino on it. Turns out the
E50 can’t adjust volume with Volumino and I’ll be damned if I was going to use that garbage E50 remote, so I grabbed the Onyx and I think I’ve found my final streaming solution.
Does everything I need from Spotify to AirPlay to tidal connect. Also, between the Pi and the Onyx the whole thing can quite literally fit in your pocket!
So, if you have a raspberry pi lying around or can get one easily, this is a stupendous streaming combo that I don’t think can be beat, especially for the eBay price of the onyx and a used pi.
PS my Pi 4 didn’t have usb-c so I bought a four pack of usb-c to usb3 adapters for $8 on Amazon. No issues, and was recognized immediately.
Picture of this mighty combo on top of the E50:
View attachment 226311