Roon Labs Announces Support for Chromecast Devices

High-resolution network audio playback has never been so cost-effective! That's how Roon Labs highlights its latest update, which expands its ecosystem to include support for all Chromecast devices. This includes the Google Home family of smart speakers, Chromecast and Chromecast Audio receivers, and a wide range of third party products. Chromecast devices will now appear automatically in Roon’s Settings screen under the Audio tab.

There are all sorts of projects on Kickstarter, including those for electronics and DIY audio enthusiasts. French company Audiophonics has successfully funded a combination of both, leveraging the Raspberry Pi 3 and ESS Sabre DACs in its RaspTouch Open Source high-end audio player and DAC with touchscreen. Those interested still have three days left to pledge for one of the available options on Kickstarter, from the simple aluminum chassis to a complete kit and top ES9018K2M output DAC.

Korean company Astell&Kern (iRiver) has managed to forge an interesting niche market by developing and manufacturing portable high-resolution audio players. The company announced their latest-generation flagship portable HRA Player, the AK380, with 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD support. At the same time, Astell&Kern launched the much more affordable AK Jr.