Amp Up Your Audio With Qwiic
The new SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp is here along with a new Qwiic MicroMod Pro Kit!
Hello and happy October, everyone! It is Friday yet again and of course you know that that means more new products. This week we are happy to bring you two new products to check out, and we'll start with the new SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp. This small board has been designed from the ground up to easily take in audio input and output to speakers all via Qwiic. Following that, we have a way for all of you to get started using MicroMod as well as the Qwiic-connect system. Our Qwiic MicroMod Pro Kit includes an assortment of different Qwiic sensors and accessories as well as an easy to use MicroMod set up to begin building your next project as easily as possible. Without any further delay, let's jump in and take a closer look at both of this week's new products!
Amp it up!
The SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp includes the Texas Instruments TPA2016D2 stereo, filter-free class-D audio power amplifier. What distinguishes this audio amplifier from others is that it features volume control (i.e. gain), Dynamic Range Compression (DRC), Automatic Gain Control (AGC), enable/disable amplifier, and its ability to be configured through software via I2C. Its efficient class-D operation also means low heat and long battery life when driving 4Ω speakers at up to 2.8W in stereo, and 8Ω speakers at up to 1.7W in stereo. This is quite a bit more power than the mono amplifier (TPA2005D1) or Noisy Cricket stereo amplifier (LM4853). It won't shake a stadium but it will provide plenty of volume for your audio projects.
Looking to get started with the SparkFun Qwiic system? The SparkFun MicroMod Qwiic Pro Kit provides you with a MicroMod Carrier, a MicroMod Processor, two sensors, a joystick, an OLED Screen and all the cables you need to start utilizing Qwiic and I2C easily. This kit was designed to allow users to get started with MicroMod and Qwiic without the need for soldering or breadboarding. Hooking up a handful of inputs and outputs to a Carrier Board has never been so easy. Use the joystick, accelerometer or proximity sensor and one small display for outputting text, graphics, or even a microPong game!
That's it for this week. As always, we can't wait to see what you make. Shoot us a tweet @sparkfun, or let us know on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn. Please be safe out there, be kind to one another, and we'll see you next week with even more new products!
Wow! With Halloween coming up in a month, the SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp, the possibilities in combination with, say, proximity sensors, trigger boards, and Qwiic relays make me drool at the possibilities for, uh, "decorations". Too bad my schedule is already to full for October this year... oh well, maybe next year!
I do have one comment, though, about the design of the SparkFun Qwiic Speaker Amp, and that is that I would have brought the "Qwiic power jumper" connections to PTH so that the user could add a 2-pin header and use something like Jumper - 2 Pin so as to be able to switch back and forth between Qwiic and external power. Or, better yet, instead of the screw terminals for external power, use something like DC Barrel Jack Adapter - Breadboard Compatible which could "automagically" switch between the external power if plugged in and Qwiic power if the external were not plugged in.