What is it

Louder-ESP32 combines ESP32 with an external I2S DAC with powerful DSP features, capable of driving full-size speakers. This combination provides your compact and efficient ESP32 module with the necessary memory and capabilities to stream high-quality audio.

• TAS5805M DAC with integrated DSP
• Digital volume control (avoids loss of resolution compared to software volume)
• Gain digital control
• Parametric EQ (15xBQ), 128-tap FIR, 3-band DRC, AGL

Features

	Louder-ESP32	Louder-ESP32-Plus
MCU	ESP32-WROVER-N8R8 or ESP32-S3-WROOM-N8R8	ESP32-WROVER-N8R8 or ESP32-S3-WROOM-N8R8
DAC	Stereo I2S DAC (TAS5805M) with built in DSP and D-Class amp	Stereo I2S DAC ( TAS5825M ) with built in DSP and D-Class amp
Output (4Ω, 1% THD+N)	2x 32W	2x 45W
Output (8Ω, 1% THD+N)	2x 23W	2x 32W
Output (Bridge, 4Ω, 1% THD+N)	1x 45W	1x 53W
Flash/PSRAM	8MB/8MB	8MB/8MB
Power	Up to 26V from external PSU	Up to 26V from external PSU
Connectivity	WiFi + BT4.2 (except S3) + BLE Ethernet (optional module)	WiFi + BT4.2 (except S3) + BLE Ethernet (optional module)
DSP Features	Advanced (EQ, FIR, DRC, AGL, etc.)	Advanced (EQ, FIR, DRC, AGL, Smart Amp, SmartEQ, Smart Bass)
Software support
Squeezelite-ESP32	✅	✅
Snapclient	✅	✅
ESPHome (HA)	✅	✅

⚠️ Louder boards will connect to passive speakers; you can't use headphones or an external amp

💡 Need to connect an external amp? Check out HiFi-ESP32 / HiFi-ESP32-Plus and Amped-ESP32 / Amped-ESP32-Plus

💡 Don't need DSP capabilities? Check out Loud-ESP32 / Loud-ESP32-Plus

💡 Looking for a more feature-packed version? Check out Louder Esparagus and Esapragus Audio Brick

Which chip: ESP32 or ESP32-S3?

This board is available with either the 'classic' ESP32 or the newer ESP32-S3. They are not interchangeable for every use case, and picking the wrong one is the single most common support question — here's the short version:

• ESP32-S3 is the newer, more capable chip — more RAM headroom, a faster CPU, and native USB — but it has no Bluetooth Classic radio, so Bluetooth A2DP only works on the original ESP32.
• Squeezelite-ESP32 and standalone Snapclient: pick the classic ESP32. Neither firmware is fine-tuned for the S3 yet, and current S3 support is noticeably laggier.
• ESPHome / Home Assistant media player: pick ESP32-S3. The new Sendspin renderer runs much better on the S3's extra headroom.
• Voice assistant (wake word) in Home Assistant: ESP32-S3 is mandatory — the classic ESP32 doesn't have the RAM/CPU headroom to run it.
• AirPlay 1 & 2 (rbouteiller/airplay-esp32): both chips are fully supported; ESP32-S3 is preferred for its extra performance headroom.

Your use case	Pick
Bluetooth A2DP from a phone/laptop	ESP32
Squeezelite-ESP32 or standalone Snapclient	ESP32
ESPHome media player / Sendspin	ESP32-S3
Home Assistant voice assistant	ESP32-S3
AirPlay 1 & 2	Either — ESP32-S3 for more headroom

If none of that applies to you and you just want the safe default, pick ESP32-S3 — it's the newer chip. Only choose classic ESP32 if you specifically need Bluetooth A2DP, or plan to run Squeezelite-ESP32/Snapclient today.

Board Pinout

Louder-ESP32

	I2S CLK	I2S DATA	I2S WS	PSRAM RESERVED	TAS5805 SDA	TAS5805 SCL	TAS5805 PWDN	TAS5805 FAULT
ESP32	26	22	25	16, 1	21	27	33	34
ESP32-S3	14	16	15	35, 36, 37	8	9	17	18

Ethernet

	SPI CLK	SPI MOSI	SPI MISO	ETH CS	SPI HOST/SPEED	ETH INT	ETH RST
ESP32	18	23	19	05	2/20MHz	35	14
ESP32-S3	12	11	13	10	SPI2/20MHz	6	5

Optional peripheral

	IR IN	RGB OUT	OLED SPI HOST/SPEED	OLED SPI CLK	OLED SPI MOSI	OLED SPI MISO	OLED SPI CS	OLED SPI DC	OLED RST
ESP32	39	12	2/20MHz	18	23	19	15	4	32
ESP32-S3	7	21	SPI2/20MHz	12	11	13	47	38	48

Mic header

Both versions of the Louder-ESP32 boards (ESP32 Rev. H6+, ESP32-S3 Rev. K0+) have an unsoldered header for external I2S mic: left and riggh channels. ESP32 uses the same I2S bus with an extra DATA IN pin due to the pin limitations, while S3 uses a dedicated I2S bus. It can be used for wake word functionality in the Home Assistant or for custom firmware.

	I2S CLK	I2S WS	I2S DATA
ESP32	26	25	13
ESP32-S3	41	40	39

The mic model that I used for testing and validation is the INMP441 MEMS microphone; the pinout is created for this model. Other models might be available.

Software Options

• Home Assistant smart home audio and notifications. Start from the web-installer, as soon as you configure WiFi, the boards will be discovered by the ESPHome add-in automatically. Dedicated configs can be found in the documentation for simple and stable media-player, experimental sendspin protocol, and experimental snapclient component
• Squeezelite-ESP32 Spotify Connect, AirPlay, Bluetooth or Logitech Media Server. Flash directly from your browser using the web-installer. Configure WiFi using Hotspot (default password: squeezelite). Don't forget to exit Recovery mode when done.
• Snapclient multi-room audio streaming with snapserver. Flash directly from your browser using the web-installer, as soon as you configure the WiFi board will discover the snapserver automatically
• Snapclient (edge) - developer version. Developer's version of the snapclient, less stable and more feature-rich for those who cannot wait for new features to be released. Installed via web-installer, similar to standard snapclient
• AirPlay 1 & 2 with Sendspin, Bluetooth, and full DSP control. Native, actively developed AirPlay 1 & 2 firmware (rbouteiller/airplay-esp32) with PTP multi-room sync, an experimental Sendspin renderer, Bluetooth A2DP on the ESP32 revision, and full 15-band DSP control over the TAS5805M from the board's web UI. Flash straight from your browser with the web-installer — no toolchain needed. See AirPlay 2 support below for details.
• Your own software. Use Arduino IDE or Platformio IDE and the provided software samples

AirPlay 2 support

Louder-ESP32 runs rbouteiller/airplay-esp32, an open-source AirPlay 1 & 2 receiver you can flash straight from your browser via the web-installer — no PlatformIO or toolchain required. It's a separate firmware image from Squeezelite-ESP32 and Snapclient above, so flash whichever matches how you want to use the board.

• AirPlay 1 & 2 — shows up natively in Control Center and any AirPlay app, with PTP-based multi-room sync
• Sendspin (experimental) — an open multi-room protocol renderer sharing the same output path, DSP, and volume control as AirPlay
• Bluetooth A2DP on the ESP32 revision — phones and laptops can stream directly whenever AirPlay is idle (the ESP32-S3 revision has no Bluetooth Classic radio)
• OLED status display — track metadata and progress for AirPlay, Bluetooth, and Sendspin alike
• USB audio (UAC) — the ESP32-S3 revision can be built as a USB sound card for a connected computer, sharing the same DAC path and DSP
• Full DSP control — the TAS5805M's on-chip EQ is fully exposed: 15 cascaded biquad sections per channel, each an arbitrary peaking filter, shelf, high/low pass, band pass, notch, phase shift, or raw coefficients, plus a crossover builder — all from the board's web UI

TAS58xx DSP: full parametric EQ and crossover control

AirPlay 2 support above isn't just playback — it exposes the TAS5805M's on-chip DSP in full from the board's web UI:

• 15 biquad (BQ) filters per channel, usable as a full 15-band parametric equalizer
• Bi-amp filter configuration for 2-way speaker systems — split the signal between tweeter and woofer with independent filter chains per amplifier
• Low-pass filtering for subwoofer tuning and bass enhancement
• Generic filters for speaker and room equalization — peaking filters, shelf filters, and EQ sections with a configurable Q-factor, applied per channel individually or to both at once

A	B

Work in progress: REW (Room EQ Wizard) integration, to drive automatic room-correction algorithms directly from a measured response.

Using with Home Assistant

Both Louder-ESP32 versions were created specifically to be used with Home Assistant via ESPHome integration. For both boards, rich configs were pre-created with hardware configuration for common use cases. These include

• media_player component for simple and robust media playback and TTS announcements (with ducking effect)
• Sendspin media player – new experimental protocol for multi-room sync with media controls and more
• An experimental snapclient component that allows near-perfect multi-room sync and seamless integration with Music Assistant
• Another snapclient fork with an implemented 15-band software equalizer and a rich set of EQ presets
• Voice assist config for S3-based boards, allowing local voice-controlled assist and automation

Configurations are being actively maintained and upgraded, new experimental components added for you to test and enjoy

Flashing ESP32-S3

ESP32-S3 boards have two ways of firmware update: (1) similarly to classic ESP32, they can be flashed over built-in UART, or (2) uniquely for S3, over built-in USB host controller. Since it is firmware-controlled, it may be disabled if not used (or, more commonly, not available with factory default empty firmware). When come unflashed ESP32-S3 device comes into a boot loop, with a USB-CDC device appearing and disappearing every second, and requires a special flashing initialisation sequence to get flashed:

• Press the IO0 (FLASH) button and keep it pressed
• Press and release the RESET button. Release the FLASH button.
• ESP32-S3 will enter download mode, and the USB-CDC device will appear and stay available
• Run flashing routine as usual, either through web-serial or esp_tool
• This time, it is not possible to reboot the device over USB, so press RESET once more
• Device will boot normally into firmware, and if USB-CDC is enabled in the firmware, you will be able to flash it normally, download mode and reset sequence will work over USB.
• If you manage to flash firmware without USB-CDC support, you need to go through the above sequence once more

Hardware

Please visit the hardware section for board schematics and PCB designs. Note that PCBs are shared as multi-layer PDFs.

Louder-ESP32 and Louder-ESP32S3

Image

Optional Ethernet

Every board has a header that allows soldering in the W5500 SPI Ethernet module that is very easy to find. The only downside is that with the module installed board will not fit the case unless it is cut to accommodate extra height.

Louder-ESP32(S3)

BTL and PBTL mode (TAS5805M DAC)

TAS5805M DAC Allows 2 modes of operation - BTL (stereo) and PBTL (parallel, or mono). In Mono amp will use a completely different modulation scheme and basically will fully synchronize output drivers. Jumpers on the board allow both output drivers to connect to the same speaker. The most important step is to inform the Amp to change modulation in the first place via I2C comman. In the case of sqeezelite DAC controls set value is the following:

dac_controlset: {"init":[{"reg":3,"val":2},{"reg":3,"val":3},{"reg":2,"val":4}],"poweron":[{"reg":3,"val":3}],"poweroff":[{"reg":3,"val":0}]}

compared to default: dac_controlset: {"init":[{"reg":3,"val":2},{"reg":3,"val":3}],"poweron":[{"reg":3,"val":3}],"poweroff":[{"reg":3,"val":0}]}

One can test audio with a single speaker connected between L and R terminals (plus on one side and minus on the other). Optionally, jumpers on the board will effectively connect the second driver in parallel doubling the current capability.

Important point, this will send only one channel to the output, that’s just how the DAC works. True mono as (L+R)/2 is possible via more in-depth configuration (very poorly documented), but I haven’t managed to configure that on the stand. I’m still working on that. (Along with a few more really cool DSP features that this DAC has, like EQ, subwoofer mode and tone compensation settings)

	BTL	PBTL
Descriotion	Bridge Tied Load, Stereo	Parallel Bridge Tied Load, Mono
Rated Power	2×23W (8-Ω, 21 V, THD+N=1%)	45W (4-Ω, 21 V, THD+N=1%)
Speaker Connection

Starting from Rev E, an additional header is exposed to allow datasheet-specified connectivity

Image	Legend
Stereo Mode - leave open
Mono (PBTL) Mode, close horisontally

TAS5805M DSP capabilities

The TAS5805M DAC has a very powerful DSP, that allows doing lots of data processing on the silicon, that otherwise would take a considerable part of your CPU time. As of the moment of writing it is mostly an undiscovered part of the DAC, since unfortunately, TI is not making it very easy for developers. (A minute of complaint) To be more specific, you need to be (A) a proven hardware manufacturer to get access to the configuration software, namely PurePath. (B) you need to apply for a personal license and go through an approval process, and after a few weeks of waiting you get access to one DAC configuration you asked for. (C) You find out that it will work with TI's own evaluation board that will set you back $250 if you'd be able to find one. Otherwise, all you have is a list of I2C commands that you need to transfer to the device on your own cost. No wonder no one knows how to use it.

But moanings aside, what do you get after:

• Flexible input mixer with gain corrections
• 15 EQ with numerous filter configurations
• 3-band Dynamic Range Compression with flexible curve configuration
• 128-tap FIR filter
• Automatic Gain Limiter with flexible configuration
• Soft clipper
• and a few other things

At this moment I'm adding most useful features one by one, focusing on EQ and Bi-amp filtering capabilities. All of the above are available right now for experimentation. I'm keen to hear your feedback while I'm moving forward with porting this to other software options

Louder ESP power considerations

Barrel jack used is spaced at 6mm hole/2mm pin, which is typically 5.5/2.5mm jack on the male side.

The screw terminal is connected in parallel to the barrel jack; you can use either interchangeably.

The power adapter specs depend on the speaker you're planning to use. DAC efficiency is close to 100%, so just take the power rating of your speaker (say 2x10w), and impedance (say 8 ohms), and you'd need at least 9 volts rated at 1.2 amps per channel, round up to 3 total amps.

It is not recommended to go beyond the voltage your speakers can take; otherwise amp will blow your speakers in no time.

Case

Louder-ESP32 and Louder-ESP32-Plus boards are mechanically compatible with Raspberry Pi 4 cases, and they are very easy to source

Louder-ESP32

Restocking & Availability

New restock batches are regularly ordered from the factory, and I plan to keep all versions available at least until the next board revision is released. For current availability, you can also check the official reseller Elecrow.

USA shipping Update

Due to the new tariffs introduced by the Trump administration, standard shipments are temporarily on hold. However, shipping to the US has now resumed via UPS, though rates are currently quite high. I’ll fully resume regular shipping as soon as the restrictions are lifted. In the meantime, you may consider ordering through Elecrow.

Sponsorship & Community Support

If you’re working on an open-source project, an educational initiative, or any pro-bono/volunteer effort, feel free to reach out for sponsorship details. I’ll do my best to provide discounts or even free boards.

Custom Design & Consultation

If you’re interested in a custom design based on or inspired by my boards, I also offer contract design work and consultation when needed.

Most orders are shipped the next business day morning. All shipments are tracked. Delivery time in the EU is 3-7 days, outside 2-3 weeks, depending on the distance. After 30 days, the package is considered lost - reach out for a refund or replacement.