ezsound 6x8 brings the world of multichannel audio to the Raspberry Pi 5 with a focus on simplicity. It features 6 single-ended inputs and 8 single-ended outputs, for high-quality audio capture and playback at up to 96 khz.

If you’ve been using a Raspberry Pi for audio and ever wished for more channels, ezsound lets you get them! Whether you’re designing a surround sound system for your home theater, experimenting with Linux-based music production, or recording a band in your garage, you can use ezsound 6x8 to build your dream setup.

Mean and Clean Sound

The Raspberry Pi 5 is a powerful single board computer, and audio is a great way to put that power to use. When used with open source audio software like Ardour, ezsound 6x8 unlocks the full potential of the Raspberry Pi, without having use a USB sound card. More channels means more flexibility and creativity, making multi-room, multi-channel audio possible for artists and audiophiles alike.

Besides adding more audio channels, ezsound 6x8 is focused on minimizing noise levels. Built-in isolation prevents high-frequency noise from the Pi’s USB power supply from entering the audio processing chips. It also uses its own crystal for audio clock signals, and features high-quality voltage regulators and op-amps. This makes ezsound 6x8 very competitive when compared to existing Pi add-ons, and puts it on a par with professional audio equipment.

Features & Specifications

• Compatible exclusively with Raspberry Pi 5 B-type boards
• 6 single-ended inputs and 8 single-ended outputs at 96kHz
• Isolation from the Pi's power supply to minimize digital noise and solve the ground loop problem
• Board design allows maximum flexibility for mounting in an enclosure
• Drivers already included with Raspberry Pi OS
• Dimensions: 65 x 56 x 16mm / 2.56 x 2.20 x 0.63 in (HAT) and 209 x 62 x 31 mm, 8.23 x 2.44 x 1.22 in (auxiliary board with RCA connectors)

A note about sampling rates:
You might wonder why the card "only" supports 96 kHz. The answer is simple: 99.9% of consumer audio sources are 96 kHz or less, and the same applies for audio capture. For example, CDs and DVDs use 44.1 kHz. Leaving aside whether human hearing can even detect the difference, higher sampling rates are almost never used.

Open Source

The complete source files for ezsound 6x8 including PCB layout will be released publicly under a permissive license when the boards are shipped to Crowd Supply for delivery to backers.

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