High quality audio playback, stereo recording and voice control inspiration for a soundwave of new Pi innovations
Raspberry Pi owners can now use new high quality audio capabilities as the inspiration for their latest Pi innovations thanks to the new Wolfson Audio Card available exclusively from element14. The card brings both line-in, line-out headphone and headset support, on-board stereo microphones, and digital audio S/PDIF functionality onto the Raspberry Pi® for the first time, opening up a wide range of exciting new possibilities such as using the device to create a voice controlled wireless home media network capable of running 24-bit “better than CD quality” music playback.
The Wolfson Audio Card has been developed by Wolfson Microelectronics, the audio expert that has more than two billion chips designed in to many of the world’s leading consumer devices, from high-end audiophile equipment brands such as Linn and Astell&Kern, through to popular mass market devices like the Samsung GALAXY range of smartphones.
There are hundreds of applications based around four key features that can inspire developers to create and post their ideas on the recently launched Pi Projects resource page:
- PLAY
- Play back High Definition audio files
- Stereo line-in and line-out ports to connect to your hi-fi system for sound playback and recording on the Raspberry Pi
- TALK
- Build a VoIP conference phone for your Raspberry Pi using the Wolfson Audio Card
- Connect a boom microphone and headset to make hands-free calls using VoIP telephony
- RECORD
- Record High Definition audio using any of the microphones or line-in ports
- Voice activation– onboard stereo digital microphones makes this the perfect solution to voice activate your project
- SHARE
- Connect the Raspberry Pi to the cloud and play your music anywhere around the house
- Develop and play online games with your friends that allow in-game audio via a gaming headset
The Wolfson Audio Card costs $33.62 and is available to buy exclusively from Farnell element14 in Europe, CPC in the UK and Ireland, Newark element14 and MCM in North America and element14 in Asia Pacific.
To celebrate the launch, Wolfson and element14 have teamed up with HDtracks, The Source for Studio Master Quality Music Downloads, in conjunction with Chesky Records, to offer Wolfson Audio Card customers a free five-track 96kHz/24-bit quality music playlist, to show off the high quality audio playback capabilities of the Wolfson Audio Card.
At the heart of the Wolfson Audio Card is the WM5102 chip, a highly-integrated Audio Hub which can be found in many smartphones, tablets and other portable audio devices today, and which enables high resolution audio playback such as that normally found on high-end audio equipment. The Audio Card also includes Wolfson’s WM8804 high performance consumer mode S/PDIF digital interface transceiver and dual WM7220 Wolfson digital MEMS microphones for high quality audio capture and record.
