{"id":8627,"date":"2022-02-28T08:52:37","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T13:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=8627"},"modified":"2023-04-11T22:08:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T02:08:41","slug":"pi-10-balena-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/pi-10-balena-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Everywhere with Balena Sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Download \"Parts<\/a> \"View \"Download<\/p>\n

If you have ever wanted to use an old stereo system with Bluetooth, or create a whole-home sound system, then Balena Sound is exactly what you need. I\u2019ll show you how to get it working with a Raspberry Pi.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Balena Sound<\/span><\/h2>\n

Balena Sound is a product that turns your audio-capable Raspberry Pi into a Bluetooth, Spotify Connect, or Apple Airplay sound system.\u00a0 Just hook up a receiver or spoke amplified speakers to the Pi audio output, and you’re good to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have an old Hi-fi system that sounds great but can\u2019t connect to your modern sound sources, then Balena Sound will be your new best friend. And you don\u2019t have to restrict yourself to just one unit, with Balena Sound you can have up to 10 units in your home, all synchronized to the same sound source.<\/span><\/p>\n

You manage everything from your Balena Sound online control panel, so you\u2019ll need to create a free Balena account.\u00a0 Head over to <\/span>the Balena Sound website<\/span><\/a> and do that, you can sign up with your email address or use your GitHub account to log in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Raspberry Pi Requirements<\/span><\/h2>\n

Balena sound is capable of working with any Raspberry Pi, as long as it has some method of connecting to your sound system.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Raspberry Pi 3 and Raspberry Pi 4 both have a 3.5mm audio jack, so they can be used right out of the box. As a matter of fact, so can the older Raspberry Pi 2, if you still have one around.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You can also use a Raspberry Pi Zero, however, you\u2019ll need to attach a Digital to Analog Converter, or DAC, to it.<\/span><\/p>\n

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You can also use a DAC with a Pi 3 or Pi 4 for improved sound quality.\u00a0 Balena Sound supports several Raspberry Pi DAC HATs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additional Requirements<\/span><\/h3>\n

The only other thing that you\u2019ll need aside from your Raspberry Pi (and, optionally, a DAC) is a MicroSD card. The requirements here are not too stringent, a 16GB card will work well.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also need a method of burning an image file, packaged as a ZIP file, onto your microSD card. One of the most popular ways of doing this is to use another Balena product, <\/span>Balena Etcher<\/span><\/a>. It\u2019s a free utility that is available for all operating systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you already have a MicroSD burner that accepts ZIP images to can use that instead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting Started<\/span><\/h2>\n

Gather your supplies (Raspberry Pi board and MicroSD card) together, along with any audio cables that you\u2019ll need to hook up your sound system. Of course, you\u2019ll also need a power supply for your Raspberry Pi.<\/span><\/p>\n

I will assume that you have already created your Balena account, so the first step is to log in to your Balena console.<\/span><\/p>\n

Create a Fleet<\/span><\/h3>\n

Once you have logged in, you\u2019ll be prompted to create a \u201cfleet\u201d. A \u201cfleet\u201d is like a fleet of ships or trucks, it is just another name for a group of similar things. In this case, your \u201cfleet\u201c will consist of one or more Raspberry Pi boards.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Give your fleet the following information:<\/span><\/p>\n