Raspberry PI Media Center Hats

What is it?

The Raspberry Pi Home Media Center is a series of compact and neatly designed hardware projects that combine the power of the Raspberry Pi Zero board and the Hi-Fi DAC.

The Raspberry PI Media Center Hats is a series of boards designed to solve two weak points of the original Media Center – (a) the possibility to work with any Raspberry Pi and (b) added cost of Alu case that is not always required in the project.

The HiFi version of the board uses the capabilities of the TI’s PCM5100 32-bit DAC with line-level output, just like to HiFi Media Center, but doubling the number of outputs.

The HiFi-Plus Hat adds a TPA3110 D-class amp to te above setup, allowing connection of large speakers and simplicity of setup and usage.

Loud Hat is an equivalent of Loud Media Center, using MAX98365 DAC with D-class amp, doubling the number of channels

The Louder version is based on TAS5805M with a stereo amplifier delivering up to 30W per channel (no longer restricted by the USB-PD voltage)

This versatile media center provides a low-cost, customizable and fully open-source hardware platform for home entertainment. It aimed to support Volumio, Mopidy, or any custom firmware you may come up with

Why did I build it

Initially, I created a line of OrangePi-based devices (Hi-Fi version, followed by Amped version) focusing on the hardware platforms that were available for purchase. Lately, when the chip shortage era is mostly behind us, I’m switching my focus back to the most popular DIY hardware platform to allow a truly seamless and rewarding experience building a media center.

At this point, I’m adding a set of peripherals that I’d use myself on a daily basis (In fact I do). Including an IR reader of remote controls and the possibility to use multiple channels in multi-room setup.

Why Raspberry Pi?

Community support for Raspberry’s line of products is beyond any expectation. Kernel support, necessary drivers, device tree maps, and going all the way down to media center Linux distributions – it is all out there.

Key features (HiFi Raspberry Hat)

  • PCM5100A 32bit Stereo DAC (x2)
  • 2.1 VRMS Line level output
  • 100 dB typical noise level
  • Double LP5907 3.3 V Ultra-Low-Noise LDO per side
  • 5V sources from host Raspberry Pi
  • Mechanical dimensions (WxHxD): 65mm x 30mm x 15mm

Key features (HiFi-Plus Hat)

  • PCM5100A 32bit Stereo DAC (x2)
  • 100 dB typical noise level
  • Double LP5907 3.3 V Ultra-Low-Noise LDO per side
  • TPA3110D2 D-Class amp
  • 4x 25W (8Ω, 1% THD+N) at 22V
  • 4x 22W (4Ω, 1% THD+N) at 16V
  • 2x 40W (4Ω, 1% THD+N) at 20V (bridge mode)
  • Require 8..26V from external source
  • 5V drop-down converter powering the host Raspberry Pi
  • Mechanical dimensions (WxHxD): 70mm x 61mm x 20mm

Key features (Loud Raspberry Hat)

  • Quad I2S MAX98357 DAC with built-in D-Class amp
  • 5W per channel on 4 Ohm load (3W on 8 Ohms)
  • Up to 92% efficiency
  • Dual screw-terminal speaker output
  • Require 5V wall power adapter (powers Pi) or source power from Pi
  • Mechanical dimensions (WxHxD): 65mm x 30mm x 20mm

Key features (Louder Raspberry Hat)

  •  TAS5805M 32bit Stereo DAC
  • 2x 32W (8Ω, 1% THD+N) at 24V
  • 1x 55W (4Ω, 1% THD+N) at 24V (Brige mode)
  • Require 7..28V from external source
  • 5V drop-down converter powering the host Raspberry Pi
  • Mechanical dimensions (WxHxD): 65mm x 56mm x 20mm

How to use

Both software and hardware documentation can be found on the project’s Github. You can follow project progress at Hackaday

Raspberry Pi runs Armbian, Volumio, and Mopidy, but before any of them can use PCM5100 DAC, it needs to be configured.

Setting up an external DAC is as simple as enabling a built-in overlay.

The Louder version of the board configured with the help of sister repo

Where to buy

You may support our work by ordering this product at Tindie (coming soon)