I was not joking about the Chromecast Audio (and I have a Linn Sondek/SME for comparison). See here for the CCA data at 16/44.1, using its own internal DAC:
freq response: +0.06/-0.5 from 20-20K Hz
noise dBA: -97.1
THD: 0.0033%
IMD+noise: 0.0050%
Stereo crosstalk: -89.1
This is already far better than any TT can achieve, and it sounds the part if you know what live acoustic music sounds like.
The internal DAC will struggle a bit at higher resolutions, so for those the digital output and an external DAC is recommended. However, I am not convinced that significantly higher resolutions produce any sonic improvement.
freq response: +0.06/-0.5 from 20-20K Hz
noise dBA: -97.1
THD: 0.0033%
IMD+noise: 0.0050%
Stereo crosstalk: -89.1
This is already far better than any TT can achieve, and it sounds the part if you know what live acoustic music sounds like.
The internal DAC will struggle a bit at higher resolutions, so for those the digital output and an external DAC is recommended. However, I am not convinced that significantly higher resolutions produce any sonic improvement.