One of many notable deficiencies of the Raspberry Pi is its sound capabilities. The built-in sound is pushed by pulse-width modulation, a hack that will not produce hi-fi sound by way of the gadget’s 3.5 mm combo jack. Principally, the dynamic vary of sound output via the headphone jack has a restricted dynamic vary. Thankfully, there is a universe of add-on digital-to-analog converters (DACs) and even analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) when you want inputs as properly.
These embody 4 official Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) HATs ({Hardware} Connected on Prime add-on boards), as soon as branded IQAudio earlier than the Raspberry Pi Basis acquired IQAudio in 2020. These official boards supply a few ranges of sound high quality, and a few embody high-resolution sound and an built-in amplifier or headphone amp. Of the numerous third-party sound HAT manufacturers, HiFiBerry is probably probably the most well-known, alongside manufacturers like Raspiaudio, Audio Injector, Pirate Audio, Pimoroni, and Allo BOSS.
Every mannequin has barely totally different options, however most are DAC HATs that convert digital audio to analog output. Few embody an ADC to digitize analog audio, apart from maybe assist for piezo microphones or onboard MEMS mics. If you do discover a good ADC/DAC HAT, you will usually discover that the value is kind of a bit greater and begins to enter the vary of cheaper skilled audio interfaces like these from M-Audio and PreSonus. Nonetheless, if all you want is the power to play web radio, Spotify, and the like, a DAC ought to serve you properly in any variety of tasks.
