Introduction
This post briefly documents a BeagleBone Black (BBB) based music box. If you’ve ever wanted a Sonos system but (like me) felt they were a little expensive, then it is worth considering using a compact Linux platform like the BBB for creating something slightly similar. I feel the sound quality is not leagues different (better nor worse) than some more expensive commercial offerings.
It was a quick, fun project and costs about £100 including the cases and the BBB.
The idea for this project was simple - a compact box that connects to the home network and allows the ability to send it music to play (or it can play music stored on-board or on a server). The documentation provides just an overview because the circuits are already documented, and every implementation could be slightly different depending on end user needs, speaker enclosure, etc.
Here is the rear view:
Shown below is a video of it in action. The sound was recorded from the camera in-built mic so is not representative of actual sound quality. For actual sound quality, refer to the MP3 recording here, which was captured by connecting the headphone output (not line output) directly to an ADC and captured by the PC.
Components
The main bits and pieces are the speaker box, the BBB and a DAC/amplifier.
Although a BBB and home-built DAC/amplifier was used, a Raspberry-Pi and Wolfson audio card could be used too, for a similar price.
The home-built DAC and amplifier is easy to assemble; it uses medium-sized SMD components that are hand-solderable, and gives results similar to a Meridian DAC which uses the same chip (a Texas Instruments ic). Full circuits and information are at these two locations: part 2 has the schematic, and part 1 has some more technical detail.
There are plenty of other DACs available including pre-built ones. A search for “I2S DAC” will reveal ones that should be suitable (I have not tried them) – this ebay example is just over £10. (Note that you may require a logic inverter, see the comments sections in the links earlier).
The speaker is a Tivoli Audio speaker. It is possible to get these in new condition for about £15-20 frequently on ebay, in various color options. Any speaker enclosure would have been fine. The official Tivoli webshop sells new speakers (slightly different model) from £39 upwards.
Design and Implementation
The DAC board was mounted inside the speaker, and the BBB was mounted outside. This allows access to all the BBB ports while making the minimal amount of holes in the Tivoli speaker (Speakers are sealed for good audio reasons).
It won't replace main home music systems but that was not the intention, nor is it stereo (that capability is easy to achieve by adding a second speaker connector, but I didn't require it). This is more a bedroom or home study one-box sound system.
Step 1: Fit BBB inside a case
The first step was to get the BBB into its own case. I connected a push-switch to safely power on/off the platform. I also wired up a DB9 connector to interface to the DAC.
I used L-shaped single-in-line header pins to solder up the connections and heatshrink at the DB9 connector end. The switch and LED were wired up to the power switch pin on the BBB and to the 3.3V supply (via a 100 ohm resistor) respectively. The push-switch is wired to the P9 header, pin P9_9 and to ground (pin P9_1). The LED 3.3V supply can be taken from P9_3.
The photo below shows the LiPo battery fitted. I used a paper sticker on the underside of it, to insulate it further. The BBB doesn’t run hot, but the battery could have a spacer between the PCB and itself if desired.
Here is the finished result, powered up. It can be safely powered down by pressing the button again (this feature is by default in the current Debian image).
The other side of the case provides access to the USB port, and a small USB WiFi adapter was fitted. I have not got round to finding a software driver for it yet, so for now I just used Ethernet.
Step 2: Speaker modifications
The next step was to put the BBB aside and work on the speaker and DAC. The speaker was opened up, and the wadding was removed and stored in a plastic bag to prevent dust and drilled fragments of plastic getting on it. The speaker cable was chopped and discarded, and the grommet removed.
The DAC board was fitted with L-brackets http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?CMP=i-ddd7-00001003&sku=1466881 and the speaker rear cover was marked up for drilling the holes to secure it, and for the headphone and line jack outputs (3mm holes for the screws, and 6mm holes for the jacks).
The photo below shows the finished result. The jacks are rather recessed. This is actually no problem for some headphones (e.g. a pair of low-end AKG I own) but others will have problems. I plan to drill to a recess with a larger drill bit to 7mm and it will cover both of my sets of headphones. Note that you want to make the holes as small as practical.
After wiring up the DAC to the speaker, the wadding was placed back in position and the cover was closed up again as shown below. Then the DB9 matching connector was soldered (wires protected with heatshrink). I didn’t bother with a cover for it.
After testing, the hole needs to be sealed (perhaps with epoxy resin glue).
Finally, the BBB was attached to the speaker (rubber feet and adhesive foam pads can be used).
Step 3: Try it out!
This step was the easiest.
Plug in the power supply, power up and install the audio player software:
sudo apt-get install mplayer
Then, try to play a music file (either from local storage or from network storage):
/usr/bin/mplayer -ao alsa -volume 10 “songname.mp3"
Summary/Next Steps
A quick and simple sound system was created. With a pre-built DAC and amplifier, the hardware implementation can be extremely easy.
There are plenty of software options for creating a library of songs and providing an interface for the user to select something to play. I have not tried them. For now I will just use SSH to select music. Eventually the hope is to create a simple browser based app that will allow one to upload MP3 songs from a PC or mobile phone for instant playback. A wake-up alert in the morning with a random song, or the news, will be a good option too (enabled via browser on mobile phone).
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