Teensy 4.1 DAC Output

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vehtoh

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Hi everyone,

was amazed to see that there is a teensy 4.1 with similar pinout as the 3.5/3.6. But after byuing one, i realized, that there are no dac outputs. :/

i'm having an almost builted sythesizer hardware for the 3.5/3.6 so i'm wondering if there is an alternative way to get a dac-like signal out of the 4.1?

(and maybe, why would this feature not includet?)

Greetings
 
Simple part, why there is not a DAC pin on the T4 or T4.1... The IMXRT1060 hardware does not have one.

Alternatives - External DAC of some type. Or external I2S device.

There is another output possible using the Medium Quality Sound (MQS - Chapter 38). Which there are two pins MQSL and MQSR you will see in yellow on the card for left and right channel.

I don't do much audio so don't remember the state of using these with the Audio library or other libraries that make use of these.

Hopefully someone else might know more.
 
KurtE is right, there is no direct DAC on the Teensy 4.0 or 4.1.

As he mentions, there is the MQS system that provides a simple DAC like interface. However, the downside is it uses fixed pins 10 and 12 for the right and left channels. These pins are the primary CS pin and the MISO pin for the main SPI bus. So if you aren't using a SPI display, you could use them. With some SPI displays, you can use the second SPI bus (SPI1). On the Teensy 4.0, you would need to solder two wires to pads underneath the Teensy and use pins 0/1. On the Teensy 4.1, the two pads are now on pins 27 and 28. In addition you can switch the primary CS from pin 0 to pin 38, and the primary MISO1 to pin 39.

There are other alternatives for sound output:

I put together a list of some examples of the methods in the unofficial wiki:
 
...What are the electrical connections needed for MQS?

When I did my test, I just used an adafruit amplifier and speaker. I don't remember exactly the setup. Perhaps it was one of the amplifiers and two speakers:

More recently, I have been using the integrated speaker and amplifier, particularly for DACs:

For the boards that have headphone output (3 band 3.5mm audio cable), I tend to use some of the headphone speakers I've collected:
 
Hi again,

after fiddling arround with some i2c - dac modules, i managed to get an audio output from simple sketches. But in my mutch komplexer synth code i din't get it to work.

I wonder if there could be conflicts between DIN-Midi-communication via RX1/TX1 (PIN 0, 1) on tennsy 4.1 an i2c audio output via RX5/TX5/RX2 (PIN 21, 20, 7)?

any suggestions? Thx.
 
I have a Teensy 4 in front of me here with MiDI on Serial1, and it's using the audio library with a Teensy Audio Board. In the garage I have a Teensy 4.1 using Serial1 and MQS audio simultaneously. The 4.1 was also using Serial5 for a seconds MIDI interface. during prototyping.
Just suggesting that something else may be going on here. In my experience the Teensy 4.x has not produced "side effects" where using a pin for one library disables some other pins in an undocumented way. The only documented issue I know of is how some pins share PWM interrupts/frequencies.
I hope my reply is less-than-useless, but eagerly awaiting the responses from others-in-the-know.
 
Hallo friends :rolleyes:

I am looking for an inexpensive alternative to the PT8211 DAC for the Teensy 4.1 ?

Thanks and Greatings from Germany. Rolf
 
Hallo friends :rolleyes:

I am looking for an inexpensive alternative to the PT8211 DAC for the Teensy 4.1 ?

Thanks and Greatings from Germany. Rolf
Wow, cheaper than a PT8211 chip is difficult :)
But there are the MQS Outputs on the T4.x, as mentioned in this thread. They cost nothing.
(MQS =Medium Quality Sound)
 
The PT8211 can only be bought on ebay. The MSQ (PWM) output is not a good alternative for me. I want to build a nice synth with 16Bit sound.

I would like an equivalent alternative for the i2s output on the Teensy 4.1 without amplifier and audio input.

I want buy to distributors like Mouser, TME, or others.

Thanks for help. Rolf
 
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The PT8211 can only be bought on ebay. The MSQ (PWM) output is not a good alternative for me. I want to build a nice synth with 16Bit sound.

I would like an equivalent alternative for the i2s output on the Teensy 4.1 without amplifier and audio input.

I want buy to distributors like Mouser, TME, or others.

Thanks for help. Rolf

You can also order them via AliExpress for about 6ct/pc
They are as cheap as resistors (nearly) so the easiest Solution is to just buy a few hundred PT8211 and keep them on Stock. At least if you dont plan to sell 100000s of your Synth.
 
Rolf, have you ever tried the MQS?
Its not as bad as you night think.

If you think about parts even cheaper than PT8211, I'd give it a try.

The PT8211 is not high quality, too.
 
I had an analog drum synth with a Teensy 4 delivering metal noise for cymbal and high hat sounds. It’s an insultingly simple task for the Teensy 4 I admit (trivial to add knobs and midi), but MQS works great for that and keeps the cost low.
 
I tried MQS. But there is no good quality with high notes. 16bit sound is much better.

I will stay with PT8211 with 4x oversampling. It's a better choice for good sound and cost.

Greetings from germany. Rolf
 
For about $15, you can buy an external TOSLINK DAC box. Not the lowest cost option, but will probably outperform the PT8211.
 
Hey guys,

in case anyone else is one the search for a propper DAC for the teensy 4.x, i finally use the PCM5102A (PCM5102A Stereo DAC Decoder I2S 24bit Player Module) and connected as shown here . Maybe not the best choice, if you think of mass production, but for some hometesting it works well.
 
In case you're interested; I did a bunch of measurements on several DAC's. See this thread.
The PCM5102A is my favorite from a cost vs quality perspective.


Paul
 
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