What is it?

This is Loud Orange Pi Hat, that adds dual stereo audio capability to your Pi. It uses native I2S output of Orange Pi together with ubiquitous MAXIM Integrated MAX98357 DAC with class D amp.

Why did I build it

Initially I created a line-level Hi-Fi version of the board. I use it myself with the off-the-shelf amp to sort of modernize pre-internet era audio gear with Spotify and the rest of the family.

It works great, but it lacks proper integration between music source and the amp. I even connected the amp via relay, but you cannot control input switch remotely etc.

At some point I came to idea of standalone device that would have amp on-board. In that setup amp would probably not be that sophisticated, but at least I can have as much control over it, as I need.

Why Loud Orange Pi Hat?

It is a simple yet powerful solution that adds audio capabilities to your Orange Pi based project. All you need to complete setup is a pair of speakerss. Although not too powerful, it produces decent audio quality, which means it is suitable for high quality audio streaming.

Why Orange Pi?

It's capable and reasonably priced, and great value for money. But most notably, Raspberry's availability is still poor at the moment of writing. Orange Pi is not a perfect alternative, not nearly as good support level as Big Pi. But in terms of audio quality it is no compromise, and that what matters most

Key features

• Dual I2S MAX98357 DAC with built in D-Class amp
• 3 W per channel on 4 Ohm load
• Up to 92% efficiency
• Dual screw-terminal output

How to use

Orange Pi runs Armbian, Volumio and Mopidy, but before any of them can utilize MAX98357 DAC, it needs to be configured.

Setting up an external DAC is not a trivial task, therefore Ansible playbooks were provided to set-up your Pi in the matter of 2 clicks.

Optional playbooks will install Mopidy and Spotify smart speaker suite onto your Pi.