Google Chromecast Audio (2015)

Low cost ; Simple setup ; Works with most major streaming-music services ; Tiny and unobtrusive hardware design

Audio quality may not be up to par for discerninglisteners ; No Apple Music or Tidal support ; Limited functionality compared to Google's other Chromecast

Even if the market for Chromecast Audio is somewhat limited, it could be incredibly useful for the right person. Good speakers tend to last a long time, but the way we listen to music has evolved significantly in the last five years. If you still have...

Highly stable streaming ; Sounds better than Bluetooth ; Brilliantly simple setup ; Extremely affordable ; Multiroom audio support

Won’t stream iTunes or Apple Music from iOS devices ; Third-party app required to stream audio from a computer ; Included audio cable is relatively useless

While there’s no shortage of competition in the wireless streaming marketplace, the Chromecast Audio is among the simplest, cheapest, and most convenient ways to make virtually any audio device in your home wireless, while linking a few together can...

Inexpensive. Easy to set up. Can make any speaker or sound system Wi-Fi enabled and part of a multi-room setup. Multiple speaker configurations supported. High-resolution (96KHz/24bit) audio now supported.

Only works with 3.5mm connections out of the box. No support for stereo pairs.

The Chromecast Audio takes everything that makes the Chromecast handy, strips away video, and makes it possible to connect nearly any speaker to your Wi-Fi network for wireless music streaming. Most speaker systems today integrate Bluetooth or some...

A few years back, Google’s audience for the Chromecast Audio might’ve been much larger: standalone speakers were far more prevalent. These days, though, Bluetooth speakers are inexpensive; even Sonos, which began by wirelessly connecting existing...

For now, I’ll probably stick with my Bluetooth speaker and PC-connected speakers. But I can envision plenty of situations where a Chromecast Audio would come in handy. It certainly delivers on its promise of making it just as easy to stream audio to...

Inexpensive ; Simple to set up ; Easy to use ; Plays high-resolution audio files

No support for iTunes, Apple Music or Amazon Prime Music

Google's Chromecast Audio makes it easy to stream high-quality audio from most streaming music services to powered speakers.

Flawless streaming ; Digital output ; Excellent quality

Few supported apps

The Chromecast is a five-star product. It is not only the best of its kind in terms of ease-of-use and functionality, but it also comes at the best price. US$35 is a small price to pay to breath new life into your old speakers. I can’t recommend it to...

Really easy to set up ; Works with a large variety of speakers ; Chromecast app is simple to use ; Strong third-party app support

Sound delay when casting from website ; Multiroom support not available (yet) ; Has to stay plugged in

The Chromecast Audio does what it promises in a really simple way, but it's the future software updates that could make this a truly affordable way to create a multiroom speaker system.