Description
I2S is a digital sound protocol used by many high end audio components to pass audio data within a device. This all in single channel I2S amplifier breakout has a standard I2S digital audio input and single speaker output. The board takes care of the digital to analog conversion as well as amplification all in one – so there is no need for any extras. This board works incredibly well with the Raspberry Pi and will provide higher quality audio than the standard headphone jack.
The audio input is I2S standard, you can use 3.3V or 5V logic data. The outputs are “Bridge Tied” – that means they connect directly to the outputs, no connection to ground. The output is a ~300KHz square wave PWM that is then ‘averaged out’ by the speaker coil – the high frequencies are not heard. All the above means that you can’t connect the output into another amplifier, it should drive the speakers directly.
There’s a Gain pin that can be manipulated to change the gain. By default, the amp will give you 9dB of gain. By connecting a pullup or pull down resistor, or wiring directly, the Gain pin can be set up to give 3dB, 6dB, 9dB, 12dB or 15dB.
The ShutDown/Mode pin can be used to put the chip in shutdown or set up which I2S audio channel is piped to the speaker. By default, the amp will output (L+R)/2 stereo mix into mono out. By adding a resistor, you can change the I2S amplifier breakout to be just left or just right output.
As of October 2024 the screw terminals are now pre-soldered for your convenience.