# usb-c audio connection for DIY speakers



## BuffReideer (Feb 21, 2021)

Hi people. I'm new to this so I hope I'm putting this discussion in the right place. Also I'm a newbie in electronics and such but really wanna learn more.
I wanted to make a diy project with some speakers I salvage and an amplifier chip like "oep30wx2" that I saw on a YouTube video by DIYPerks, but I really wanted the connection to be usb-c since I like simpler wired speakers (instead of battery dependent Bluetooth ones), and with usb-c it would (at least I thought at the time) work with both my PC and phone and would serve as audio signal and power connection (I'm talking about the need of an audio jack and usb in most diy builds I found online).
Of course when I started my search to know what I would need to accomplish my goal I found out that usb-c may send both analog or digital audio? but you don't always know which one and some devices dont work because of this? and I would need a DAC if it was digital? I'm somewhat lost and would appreciate if someone could explain it better and give me some tips.
If I want it to work in any circumstances with usb-c is it enough to include a dac chip/board before the amplifier in my build? Or do I need a more complicated circuit to ensure it works if by some reason I am already receiving an analog (which I think shouldn't go through the DAC in that case, am I wrong?).
Also if you have tips in what amplifier/dac/other component I should include I'd really appreciate as I don't know a thing about audio, just keep in mind I want a to make a rather small and cheap build so the sound quality doesn't have perfect. This is mostly for fun and to deepen my knowledge in eletronics and audio devices.


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## BJG (Feb 7, 2021)

I have a Note 20 Ultra 5G that Samsung just had to remove the 3.5mm aux port (why, samsung?), but anyway I use USB-C to 3.5mm, USB-C to RCA, and USB-C to optical toslink without any problems whatsoever. So my question for you is.. what is your exact question? Are you trying to bypass the head unit or what? Or maybe I'm just misunderstanding at what you're getting at.. which certainly is a plausable possibility.


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## daloudin (Nov 2, 2020)

BuffReideer said:


> Hi people. I'm new to this so I hope I'm putting this discussion in the right place. Also I'm a newbie in electronics and such but really wanna learn more.
> I wanted to make a diy project with some speakers I salvage and an amplifier chip like "oep30wx2" that I saw on a YouTube video by DIYPerks, but I really wanted the connection to be usb-c since I like simpler wired speakers (instead of battery dependent Bluetooth ones), and with usb-c it would (at least I thought at the time) work with both my PC and phone and would serve as audio signal and power connection (I'm talking about the need of an audio jack and usb in most diy builds I found online).
> Of course when I started my search to know what I would need to accomplish my goal I found out that usb-c may send both analog or digital audio? but you don't always know which one and some devices dont work because of this? and I would need a DAC if it was digital? I'm somewhat lost and would appreciate if someone could explain it better and give me some tips.
> If I want it to work in any circumstances with usb-c is it enough to include a dac chip/board before the amplifier in my build? Or do I need a more complicated circuit to ensure it works if by some reason I am already receiving an analog (which I think shouldn't go through the DAC in that case, am I wrong?).
> Also if you have tips in what amplifier/dac/other component I should include I'd really appreciate as I don't know a thing about audio, just keep in mind I want a to make a rather small and cheap build so the sound quality doesn't have perfect. This is mostly for fun and to deepen my knowledge in eletronics and audio devices.


Yes, you will have to include a DAC section if you want interoperability for all devices.

No, they don't make a DAC/Amplifier AIO chip (that I'm aware of) and it's really unnecessary if you're building your own as a simple logic circuit coming off the USB C input to see if there's Voltage on the Analog side would be simple enough to switch over to the DAC. Be cognizant of the fact that you'll quickly get in to the price range of AIO Class D Amps coming out of China from makers like Topping that get volume discounts you could only dream of...

The real issue is going to be how far you want the DAC side to go... if you want it to work in any circumstances then you need HUGE bandwidth chipsets capable of things like 32 bit resolution and sampling rates in excess of 192kbps which is going to get expensive (...rare as well...) real quick. If you work towards 24/192 then you'll have pretty good coverage of sources and at least more than one chipset to choose from: https://www.mouser.com/Semiconductors/Audio-ICs/Audio-D-A-Converter-ICs/_/N-4gxke so that hopefully you'll find one that shares the same supply voltage as your salvaged amp chip.


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