USB Audio with Unicorn PHAT

Support
1

I’ve created a neat little baby monitor with a couple of Unicorn Phats running to produce some light shows.

I know that these use PWM, so I can’t reliably use the analog audio out.

I’ve connected a Bluetooth speaker which works pretty well for sound. However it doesn’t reliably connect and always takes about half a second to wake up when audio starts.

I was wondering if I could use a USB Speaker? Or will this still involve pwm?

There have been similar questions asked which suggest a USB sound card might work, but I’m not sure if USB speakers are effectively a USB sound card + speakers, or if they work in some other way.

2

Yes most USB speakers are a USB sound card combined with speakers- as long as they’re using the USB for data and not just power (I don’t believe I’ve ever seen any that use the connector just for power unless they are also bluetooth ones.)

An alternative might be a basic USB->3.5mm jack adaptor and regular speakers if you don’t find any speakers that work directly: https://shop.pimoroni.com/products/usb-soundcard

3

Many thanks, I’ll give some usb speakers a try.