In my opinion the DAC in airport express is very bad.

I also find the analogue audio from a Chromecast to sound better than the analogue audio from an Airport express.

When it comes to the digital signal, there is a thread about that on the forum. Spoiler: Airport express does a better job.

Very different products.

Airport express is a WiFi router, access point and has an audio output as an extra feature. It uses airplay to transmit data from a device to the airport. What that means in this case is that the sound is converted to Apple lossless and then send further on its way and then played back.

Chrome cast however grabs the source and plays it itself without any re encoding. This takes less effort and usually gives a better representation as no conversion is made. However the lossless format is supposedly “lossless” and the effect should not be dramatically but the step is there. It’s also an older product. It does have a pretty stellar DAC for its price and very low noise floor as well so usually it is pretty good.

I would probably change the beolits to devices with built in capabilities for streaming such as the m5 or m3 or more expensive devices or even Sonos.

Indeed there are different views on the sq of the APE .

have a look here:

Or just read what Ken sums up:

’At any price, the Apple AirPort Express is a great DAC. It sounds great, with a completely silent background, full 2 V output, smooth detailed sound and full infrasonic bass response.

For best results, leave your player's volume at its maximum for maximum output from the AirPort Express, and then vary the playback level with your Hi-Fi's volume control.‘

 

MM

Also Archimago did some measuments/testing with the Chromecast Audio.

Here is the first part:

Feel free to read....and to test on your own.

MMlink