I am having difficulty finding info on getting sound from my RPis.
I have a RPi 400 and a RPi 5 which I want to use in my workshop to access the internet but, of course, these have no audio jack. As I cannot lipread, it’s hard to decipher youtube videos.
I need a simple way to get sound from these sbc’s.
Would the Adafruit USB Audio Adapter do this for me?
The description makes it sound ideal but there is no current info referring to the RPi 400 or 5 versions.
From Google AI search for ‘Pi 5 sound output’. No idea if this will help.
The Raspberry Pi 5 does not have a built-in audio jack. To output audio, you’ll need to use either: 1) HDMI output, which can carry audio to a compatible display or receiver;or
2) USB audio devices, like a USB sound card or DAC.
HDMI Output:
The Raspberry Pi 5, like other models, can send audio signals over the HDMI connection. If your monitor or TV has built-in speakers or an audio output, you can connect it to the Pi’s HDMI port and the audio will be transmitted along with the video.
USB Audio Devices:
A common and flexible method is to use a USB audio device. These devices convert the digital audio data from the Pi into an analog signal that can be sent to headphones, speakers, or other audio equipment.
USB Sound Cards:
These are readily available and often plug directly into a USB port on the Pi. They typically have a 3.5mm audio jack for connecting headphones or speakers.
DACs (Digital-to-Analog Converters):
DACs are specialized USB devices that improve audio quality by providing higher resolution and lower noise compared to basic USB sound cards.
Audio HATs:
These are expansion boards that connect to the Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins and can provide various audio output options, including DACs and amplifiers. They may offer better audio quality or additional features compared to basic USB devices.
The audio jack on the earlier RasPi models (<= 4) was well known to be crappy quality; so not surprising they dropped it.
As James mentioned, if you are using an HDMI screen, check whether it has speakers (like a tv).
Yes, the USB Audio Adapter - Works with Raspberry Pi would be the easiest & cheapest option and provides decent sound quality. It plugs into any USB socket (such as your RasPi 400 and RasPi 5 have) and you plug your speaker or headphone into its 3.5mm stereo audio jack.
If you want higher quality (say for watching movies or a media player) there are plenty of Audio HATs which sit on top of the Raspberry Pi and provide 3.5mm jack, RCA or speaker connectors.
The Adafruit USB Audio Adapter should work with both the RPi 400 and RPi 5! It acts as an external sound card, converting USB input into audio output. You’ll just need to plug it into one of the USB ports on your Raspberry Pi and connect your speakers or headphones to the audio jack on the adapter.
Lots of great suggestions here! There are many ways to achieve this, but the simplest would be to go for the USB Audio Adapter. This will work well and is pretty simple to set up.
Otherwise, maybe the YouTube subtitles could help you out as you learn to lipread?
I’ve ordered two USB Audio Adapters for my two silent Pis and also an Adafruit I2S 3W Stereo Speaker Bonnet to play around with.
I would have liked the Adafruit I2S Audio Bonnet but it appears it’s not made any more.
If the sound turns out awful I might look at a HDMI Audio Extractor, hope I don’t have to.
re. connecting the Bonnet to the Pi5 and 400, I already have a fan mounted on the Pi5 it so I thought I might use one of those wide ribbon cables from old computers and mount the Bonnet nearby. I’ll have to do something similar for the 400 due to It’s pin location.
The Raspberry Pi was designed to allow HATs to be stacked - but you have to be careful that two boards aren’t using the same GPIO pin for different things.
Unfortunately I found that many HAT makers assume that theirs will be the only board, or the board on top . Fortunately there are several accessories which can be useful individually or in combination to allow multiple HATs (or the smaller bonnets or shims) and/or to change their orientation to make them more accessible (particularly for the RasPi 400).
If you buy a HAT which requires you to solder the header onto the HAT, you might like to swap the standard header for an extra-tall or extra-long Stacking Header to give extra space between boards (eg to allow space for airflow around your Pi5’s fan). You can also add a standard 2x20 header just as a spacer (like stacking lego bricks ).
The 40-pin Raspberry Pi GPIO Breakout is excellent for doing your own wiring on a breadboard … I find mine particularly useful - but not as a way to connect another HAT.
The Dual-Access board does split your GPIO into two, allowing 2 HATs to be connected simultaneously - which I think is what you might be after. Personally I bought a HAT Hacker HAT so I can add a HAT to my RasPi4 at the same time using my GPIO breakout. The Pimoroni Flat HAT Hacker is marketed more for RasPi 400, and they also produce a smaller version for the RasPi Pico (does pico use the same GPIO pin layout ?) and a larger Pimoroni Mini Black HAT Hack3r
I am not suggesting you need any of these … but it’s always useful to know the variety of options available … and there are so many boards and accessories available for the Raspberry Pi, you should find several options for anything you are wanting to do with it. I will comment however that Core Electronics often have the same (or very similar) product from different suppliers at different prices. It was quite annoying to find that I waited 10 days for an Adafruit product, to then find Core’s own-brand version was in stock at substantially cheaper price but I can only blame myself for not checking.
. Fortunately there are several accessories which can be useful individually or in combination to allow multiple HATs (or the smaller bonnets or shims) and/or to change their orientation to make them more accessible (particularly for the RasPi 400).
but I can only blame myself for not checking.
