Audio question

RpiBeginner · 15 Aug 2019, 08:25

Hi guys. Okay so I'm building an arcade and I'm currently at the Audio section of the project.

I have bought this kit:
https://www.arcadeworlduk.com/products/hi-fi-stereo-sound-amplifier-kit-for-arcade-machine-projects.html

which is supposed to end up in the 3.5 mm jack of my PI. I've read alot about audio quality or lack thereof, so I'm considering adding an external usb card, and plug the 3.5 wire to that instead. Will this still improve the sound, when there's an amp connected?

rogerdodger · 15 Aug 2019, 11:39

Hi @RpiBeginner,

I am in the process of finishing an arcade machine build and bought the exact same speaker/amp bundle as you.

I ended up using a usb sound card as the 3.5mm Rasperry Pi audio jack genearates far too much noise.

Check the very last post on this thread (ignoring steps 1 and 2) for how to configure the usb sound card correctly.

Hope this helps.

RpiBeginner · 15 Aug 2019, 11:47

Ooh interesting! Which usb soundcard did you end up buying? And did the noise completely dissappear?

RpiBeginner · 15 Aug 2019, 11:53

@rogerdodger said in Audio question:

Hi @RpiBeginner,

I am in the process of finishing an arcade machine build and bought the exact same speaker/amp bundle as you.

I ended up using a usb sound card as the 3.5mm Rasperry Pi audio jack genearates far too much noise.

Check the very last post on this thread (ignoring steps 1 and 2) for how to configure the usb sound card correctly.

Hope this helps.

Found the one you bought now.. Only to get this to work, I've seen that you have to do the lsusb command to see if the device is recognized.. But since usb sound card you bought is compatible, that step is not needed of course :-)

RpiBeginner · 15 Aug 2019, 12:03

@rogerdodger and what is your experience with the amp and the usb sound card? Could you maybe upload a video to show it off? I'm very interested!

rogerdodger · 15 Aug 2019, 12:50

The usb sound card is great, the speakers and amp won't set the world alight but they're fine for arcade stuff.

I'll try and see if I can get a video up next week.

RpiBeginner · 15 Aug 2019, 13:15

@rogerdodger said in Audio question:

The usb sound card is great, the speakers and amp won't set the world alight but they're fine for arcade stuff.

I'll try and see if I can get a video up next week.

I'm not planning on setting the world alight, but it's way better than the standard output right? And the hiss is gone? I hope some of this is true cause I just bought it!

rogerdodger · 15 Aug 2019, 16:05

Oh yeah, the 3.5mm jack is awful.

Clyde · 16 Aug 2019, 05:25

@RpiBeginner You could try to add this to the file /boot/config.txt to improve the analog sound from the 3.5 mm jack:

audio_pwm_mode=2

It changes to a new (still experimental?) audio driver. My audio via the 3.5 mm jack improved significantly with it. It won't change anything for HDMI audio, as I guess it won't for an external USB audio card which should have its own drivers.

You can find this and some other tips at https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Sound-Issues under "White Noise Fix".

MaMikee · 16 Aug 2019, 13:34

@Clyde said in Audio question:

@RpiBeginner You could try to add this to the file /boot/config.txt to improve the analog sound from the 3.5 mm jack:
audio_pwm_mode=2
It changes to a new (still experimental?) audio driver. My audio via the 3.5 mm jack improved significantly with it. It won't change anything for HDMI audio, as I guess it won't for an external USB audio card which should have its own drivers.

You can find this and some other tips at https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Sound-Issues under "White Noise Fix".

This worked great for me, although I did order a USB sound thing. I can try that out too. Thank you