Cirrus Logic Audio Card working on the Raspberry Pi 2

For those interested I've uploaded the following packages to my Raspbian repository (http://rpi.autostatic.com/):

• linux-image-cirrus: meta package that installs a kernel with Wolfson/Cirrus Logic audio interface support
• cirrus-config-overlay: package that installs the device tree overlay file for the Wolfson/Cirrus Logic audio interface
• cirrus-config-modprobe: package that installs the modprobe config file for the Wolfson/Cirrus Logic audio interface
• cirrus-config-scripts: package that installs the playback, record and reset scripts for use with the Wolfson/Cirrus Logic audio interface
• cirrus-config: meta package that installs all the above packages

If anyone is interested in testing these packages, go ahead, feedback is greatly appreciated. On a clean Raspbian install adding my repo, installing the cirrus-config package and rebooting your RPi should enable the Wolfson/Cirrus Logic audio interface. No need to edit any config files.

Jeremy

Hi Jeremy

I installed your cirrus-packages and could start Jack:

jackd -dalsa -r44100 -p882 -n2 -C hw:sndrpiwsp -P hw:sndrpiwsp
jackdmp 1.9.9
...
JACK server starting in realtime mode with priority 10
audio_reservation_init
Acquire audio card Audio0
creating alsa driver ... hw:sndrpiwsp|hw:sndrpiwsp|882|2|44100|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
configuring for 44100Hz, period = 882 frames (20.0 ms), buffer = 2 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 32bit integer little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for capture
ALSA: final selected sample format for playback: 32bit integer little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for playback

This looks fine. Great work! Thanks a lot!

Could you assist me in finding a solution for this requirement:

I need to listen and playback a the same time to: Cirrus-Headset AND Cirrus-Lineout at the same time.

However in Jack I only see the Headset as system:xxx.

Thanks a lot in advance

   Hans

Hi Jeremy

I installed your cirrus-packages and could start Jack:

jackd -dalsa -r44100 -p882 -n2 -C hw:sndrpiwsp -P hw:sndrpiwsp
jackdmp 1.9.9
...
JACK server starting in realtime mode with priority 10
audio_reservation_init
Acquire audio card Audio0
creating alsa driver ... hw:sndrpiwsp|hw:sndrpiwsp|882|2|44100|0|0|nomon|swmeter|-|32bit
configuring for 44100Hz, period = 882 frames (20.0 ms), buffer = 2 periods
ALSA: final selected sample format for capture: 32bit integer little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for capture
ALSA: final selected sample format for playback: 32bit integer little-endian
ALSA: use 2 periods for playback

This looks fine. Great work! Thanks a lot!

Could you assist me in finding a solution for this requirement:

I need to listen and playback a the same time to: Cirrus-Headset AND Cirrus-Lineout at the same time.

However in Jack I only see the Headset as system:xxx.

Thanks a lot in advance

   Hans

Hello Hans,

Thanks for the feedback! Regarding JACK, apologies for sounding patronizing but why the 882 period size? Default is 1024 and normally you would use only powers of 2. And -dhw:sndrpiwsp equals -C hw:sndrpiwsp -P hw:sndrpiwsp

You can use the headset and line out outputs simultaneously by running their respective ALSA scripts (Playback_to_Headset.sh and Playback_to_Lineout.sh), starting JACK and then connecting your JACK ports to the system:playback_* ports. There should be sound on both outputs, at least, I'm testing it now with jack_metro and the beeps are coming out of both the line out and the headset outputs.

Jeremy

Hello Jeremy

Thanks a lot for your quick reply.

However, I need DIFFERENT Sound on Headset and Lineout. And therefore I need 4 Output-Plugs in Jack.

Do you have any clue how to do that?

Any help is greatly appreciated

   Hans

As far as I know that is not possible with the current drivers, it is not possible to define different outputs in ALSA/JACK (hence the clunky scripts). Maybe something can be done with an .asoundrc script but that's a bit over my head and  probably it can't be done because I don't see any PCM devices exposed. You might also want to ask on IRC in the #alsa channel on Freenode.

No, it is not possible with the current drivers. The I2S interface can only carry one or two channels. There could be ways around that, but that means some driver hacking.

Florian Meier  ( koalo ) has done some experiments with four channel input on the Wolfson card, but I don't know of any real implementation to get more than two channels.

--

Ragnar

Jeremy ,

I am making a project about audio recorder with RPi2 and cirrus audio logic card, i wonder if you answer me some questions:

1) What are the steps to connect RPi2 with Cirrus audio logic card?

2) how to recorder audio in the micro sd card of the RPi2

please i hope yours answers asap

thanks

Diego Caballero wrote:

 

I am making a project about audio recorder with RPi2 and cirrus audio logic card, i wonder if you answer me some questions:

 

1) What are the steps to connect RPi2 with Cirrus audio logic card?

 

<shameless plug> I just published a blog post which summarizes my research on this particular question https://stmllr.net/blog/cirrus-logic-audio-card-on-raspberry-pi2-with-debian-jessie/index.html
[edit] Disclaimer: the post requires some experience with linux and patching here and there.

Steffen Müller wrote:

<shameless plug> I just published a blog post which summarizes my research on this particular question https://stmllr.net/blog/cirrus-logic-audio-card-on-raspberry-pi2-with-debian-jessie/index.html

Nice post!

Just a few additions, first the important one: when you compile the kernel by yourself, be sure to copy over all the devicetree files. Most importantly the bcm2709-rpi-2-b.dtb, but also all the other overlay files. These files get important changes from time to time and if you happen to use devicetree files not matching your kernel version you might run into very strange errors - I got caught by this once during testing.

sudo cp -f arch/arm/boot/dts/*.dtb /boot/
sudo cp -f arch/arm/boot/dts/overlays/*.dtb arch/arm/boot/dts/overlays/README /boot/overlays/

And I prefer to use mkknlimg from the RPi kernel tree instead of some external one:

sudo ./scripts/mkknlimg arch/arm/boot/zImage /boot/kernel7.img

The rest of your instructions look fine, good job!

Edit: And, yes, this forum software is a real PITA. Almost every time I have to switch to html mode and edit the html code directly because the "advanced" or "full" editors messed something up...

so long,

Hias

@HiassofT Thanks for your feedback on the blog post, I added your suggestions.