WSAL20167 – Pico-Audio/en

Documentation notice: This technical documentation was independently rewritten from an archived supplier source. Check technical details and commands against the product version and manufacturer documentation before use.

Summary

The Pico-Audio is an audio expansion module for the Raspberry Pi Pico. It uses an I2S bus and supports simultaneous output to a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a 4-wire speaker.

Related products at JW Tech

WSAL20167 – Audio Expansion Module for Raspberry Pi Pico, Concurrently Headphone / Speaker Output

Technical overview

Two hardware versions: initial version with PCM5101A (sampling rate 8–384 kHz), Rev2.1 with CS4344 (sampling rate 2–200 kHz).
Both versions deliver 2.6 W per channel (4-ohm BTL) for the speaker and provide a 3.5 mm headphone jack plus a 4-wire speaker output.
Initial version pinout: DIN on GPIO26, BCK on GPIO27, LRCK on GPIO28; power via VSYS (5 V) and 3V3(OUT) (3.3 V).
Rev2.1 pinout: DIN on GPIO22, MCLK on GPIO26, LRCK on GPIO27, SCLK on GPIO28; same power pins as above.
I2S protocol: data is signed (16/24/32-bit, MSB first); BCK frequency must be 32×, 48× or 64× the LRCK frequency.
Example code is provided as a C project; build with CMake (requires pico-sdk) and Make; the output is a .uf2 file to flash onto the Pico.
The sound-card firmware (.uf2) from the usb_sound_card folder is copied directly to the Pico's USB mass-storage drive so it is recognized as a driver-free sound card on Windows/Linux.
Per the FAQ, the Pico cannot store WAV/MP3 files locally due to memory limits; Waveshare therefore recommends the C demo code instead of a Python solution.

Commands and examples – verify before use:

sudo apt-get install p7zip-full
cd ~
sudo wget https://files.waveshare.com/upload/5/5a/Pico_Audio.7z
7z x Pico_Audio.7z -o./Pico-Audio
cd ~/Pico_Audio
cp usb_sound_card.uf2 /media/pi/RPI-RP2/
cd ~/Pico_Audio/Pico-Audio/
cd build
export PICO_SDK_PATH=../../pico-sdk
cmake -DPICO_BOARD=pico -DPICO_PLATFORM=rp2040 ..
make -j9
cp audio_firmware.uf2 /media/pi/RPI-RP2/
sudo wget https://files.waveshare.com/upload/5/5a/Pico-Audio-V2.7z
7z x Pico-Audio-V2.7z -o./Pico-Audio-V2
cd ~/Pico-Audio-V2/Pico-Audio/
cmake -DPICO_BOARD=pico2 -DPICO_PLATFORM=rp2350 ..

Notes and version constraints

Pin assignments differ between the initial version and Rev2.1; the specific hardware revision in use must be identified before wiring.
The pico-sdk path may vary by installation; PICO_SDK_PATH may need adjustment.
Flashing requires holding the BOOT button while connecting via USB; without correct timing the computer will not detect the mass-storage device.
The source text contains template placeholders ({{{...}}) and outdated links; these were removed because they do not represent technical facts.
No information on certifications, warranty, or price is present in the source material; such details must not be added.

Source and revision record

Pico-Audio - Waveshare Wiki
Source revision: 91226
Captured: 2026-09-02T03:27:02+00:00
SHA-256: 32f2197bb0f1c2d837141d8efc0ecc66c1355be60702a935b8985e5ced0ad247