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Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 9 Comments on Louder ESP32 Mini board adds WiFi and Bluetooth to old speakers for SqueezeLite, Snapclient, or ESPHome support

Louder ESP32 Mini board adds WiFi and Bluetooth to old speakers for SqueezeLite, Snapclient, or ESPHome support

Louder ESP32 Mini

Sonocotta’s Louder-ESP32-Mini is a compact version of the Louder ESP32 board that converts old speakers into WiFi (and Bluetooth) connected speakers for your Smart Home. The board aims to replace the speaker terminals on your old speakers, and comes in two sizes: 42x42mm for small speakers, and 52x52mm for larger models. It’s powered by an ESP32-S3 wireless SoC with 8MB PSRAM and equipped with a high-quality TAS5805M DAC with DSP features. Louder-ESP32-Mini specifications: Wireless Module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-N8R8 SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 up to 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML workloads RAM – 512KB SRAM, 8MB PSRAM Storage – 8MB flash Wireless – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth LE 5 Antenna – PCB antenna Audio DAC – Stereo TAS5805M I2S DAC with built-in DSP and D-Class amp DSP Features – EQ, FIR, DRC, AGL, etc… Speaker output via two WAGO connectors 4Ω, 1% THD+N 42×42 […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 152 Comments on Giveaway Week – Vana Player Linux Based HiFi Audio Player

Giveaway Week – Vana Player Linux Based HiFi Audio Player

After giving away a virtual reality headset on Monday, and a TV box on Tuesday, I’ll offer a very unique device for the third day of this giveawat week with Vana Player, an HiFi audio player based on Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board. Beside the development board the kit includes two audio DAC boards, a 30W amplifier, a reclocker board, a capacitance multiplier board, and accessories like an acrylic “case” and a power supply. The system is running Ubuntu 12.04 with Max2Play web interface to configure the system running a SqueezeBox server, Kodi and more. I found a few bugs during my review, but the company has now released a new firmware update that should fix many of the issues I encountered. All items shown above will be included in the package. Note that you’ll also need a 19.5V power supply, for example from an old laptop to power […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Review of Allo Vana Player Linux HiFi Audio System with Max2Play, SqueezeBox and Kodi

Last month I showcased what I called “Allo Sparky Audio Kit” with a DAC board (Piano), an amplifier board (Volt), and usually hard to find  reclocker and capacitance multiplier boards (Kali & CM), all connected to Allo Sparky ARM Linux development board powered by Actions Semi S500 quad core Cortex A9 processor, and running Ubuntu 12.04. In the first post, I just described the boards, and showed how to assemble the kit, but now that I have received the user’s manual, it turns out the kit is actually called “Vana Player” and the provided Ubuntu firmware image runs Max2Play Browser based system that’s also available for Raspberry Pi and ODROID boards. Before starting the kit, you’ll need to connect speakers to Piano DAC board and/or Kali board, as well as a 19.5V power source such as a laptop power supply to connect to the CM board. I connected some USB […]