3.5mm or RCA audio cables (if using a supported DAC)įurthermore, you will need the following software:ġ.A power supply (check which one you need for your Pi).You will need the following parts to get started:
#Balenaetcher alternative how to#
How to make your own Sonos-like smart speaker using a Raspberry Pi It also helps that the documentation for balenaSound is quite solid, so don't be afraid to do some reading. There are configurations you can tinker with, but the basics are quite easy to deploy. That should be fine for most residential purposes.Īssuming you have the parts I'll layout below, you can be up and running in about 10 minutes. Keep in mind that with the free tier, you're limited to 10 devices on balenaCloud. I'd be more than happy to cover the licensing fee Google charges to turn my speakers into Cast targets.
![balenaetcher alternative balenaetcher alternative](https://fossbytes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Best-Rufus-Alternatives.jpg)
In fact, the only thing I wish balenaSound had is Google Cast. You have Wi-Fi speakers that support AirPlay, Spotify Connect, UPnP and Bluetooth (and there's snapcast support, too). Slap that into your Raspberry Pi, hook up the speakers, and boom. You'll walk through the steps of creating a project, customize the OS image, and flash it to your microSD card. The OS uses the OpenVPN protocol to create a secure connection to your dashboard for deployments and management. To manage your instance of balenaSound (or any other balena IoT project), you'll control it through the balenaCloud portal. It's a Docker container that runs on top of balenaOS (opens in new tab), an operating system designed specifically for deploying Internet of Things (IoT) in containers. When coupled with a Raspberry Pi, it turns regular old speakers into Wi-Fi speakers with multi-room capabilities like Sonos. This is balenaSound (opens in new tab), an audio streamer that supports single- and multi-room layouts. In fact, there are several others, but one in particular caught my eye (well, two, but I digress).
![balenaetcher alternative balenaetcher alternative](https://www.tech21century.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/screenshot-www.balena.io-2021.08.22-19_20_47.jpg)
My balenaSound dashboard (Image credit: Tom's Guide) (opens in new tab)īut Etcher isn't the only project that balena has going on.