Audio
Choose the audio hardware, set start and maximum volume, configure system sounds and notification tones and upload your own sounds.
The audio settings are split across two pages: Box → Audio (volume and sounds) and Hardware → Audio (which hardware outputs the sound).
Volume
- Start volume: the volume after every start.
- Maximum volume: the upper limit for every way of control – touch, buttons, app, Home Assistant. Protects children's ears and small speakers.
Audio hardware
Under Hardware → Audio you choose the physical output, e.g. the MuPiHAT (MAX98357A amplifier), a USB sound card, a DAC HAT, the headphone jack or HDMI. All sounds – music, voice output, system sounds – go through one shared audio bus and therefore through the same output.
- Test tone checks the selected hardware without saving it.
- Some profiles (e.g. overlays for HATs) only become available after a restart; the page tells you when.
- Advanced: player output device – only for diagnostics or special ALSA setups. Normally "automatic".
Connected Bluetooth headphones or speakers take over the sound automatically, see Bluetooth.
System sounds
Start, shutdown, button and battery warning sounds go through the shared audio bus, do not interrupt playback and use the current box volume.
| Sound | When |
|---|---|
| Start sound | when the interface is ready |
| Shutdown sound | when shutting down or restarting – the box waits until it has finished; this takes a little longer |
| Button sound | on every touch of the interface (not in piano, games and colouring book) |
| Notification | short tone before spoken messages |
| Battery warning | see MuPiHAT |
Own sounds: upload WAV, MP3, OGG or FLAC up to 12 MB and assign a category. The sound then only appears in the matching selection. "Preview" plays it through the current output.