Raspberry Pi gets a Real Sound Card from Wolfson and Element14

I have been a big fan of the Raspberry Pi. It brings easy, affordable, high level computing tinkering to the masses. It is great for makers, educators and tinkerers. Today it gets a new sound card with lots of features from Element14. From their website:

Features

  • 3.5 mm jack (4-pole) for a headset/boom mic combination for gaming or VoIP applications
  • 3.5 mm jack for microphone input
  • On-board MEMS microphone
  • 3.5 mm jack stereo line input for connection to devices such as digital audio players (iPod etc.) or mobile phones
  • 3.5 mm jack stereo line output for connection to devices such as external stereo amplifiers or powered speakers
  • S/PDIF input and output
  • On-board class D power amplifier for external speakers, with connection to external power source if needed.
  • Small pin header for extra functions if they are low cost, already on-chip, and don't require any further components
  • Raspberry Pi form factor

Note very important note is that this Wolfson Audio Card is only compatible with Raspberry Pis which feature the P5 pads, which can be found on Revision 2 Raspberry Pis onwards.


What makes this bitter sweet for me is that I am really into computer music. After I built my first "computer" when I was in high school, the first addition to it is a sound card. The computer is based on a SC/MP MK14 board. The "sound card" that I designed and built is based on the General Instrument AY-3-8910 chip.

Now years later, my kids can do the same with slightly more powerful hardware and software.