Infineon Releases Raspberry Pi HAT with Class D Audio Amp

By Brandon Lewis

Editor-in-Chief

Embedded Computing Design

May 21, 2020

News

Driven by a MERUS MA12070P multilevel class D audio amplifier, the Raspberry Pi HAT amplifies signals with up to 40 W instantaneous peak power at 4 Ohm.

Infineon has released the KIT_40W_AMP_HAT_ZW, an HD audio Hardware Attached Top (HAT) for the Raspberry Pi Zero W, Raspberry Pi 3, and Raspberry Pi 4 driven by the MERUS MA12070P multilevel class D audio amplifier. The HAT amplifies signals with up to 40 W instantaneous peak power at 4 Ohm, and is capable of playing 24-bit audio at sample rates as high as 48 KHz. 

The onboard MERUS amplifier does not use a filter-coil at the output filter, reducing BOM cost and area. The HAT can be configured in dual-channel bridge-tied load (BTL) or single-channel parallel bridge-tied load (PBTL) modes for Multiroom, TWS, or subwoofer applications.

The KIT_40W_AMP_HAT_ZW relies solely on the 5 V/2.5 A USB power supply used by the host Raspberry Pi board. Paired with a ~6700 mAh power bank, it can provide up to 20 hours of playback time.

The KIT_40W_AMP_HAT_ZW is compatible with the Raspbian Linux distribution and streaming applications such as Volumio, moOde Audio, and JustboomPlayer.  For more information, visit www.infineon.com/kit-40w-amp-hat-zw.

Brandon is responsible for guiding content strategy, editorial direction, and community engagement across the Embedded Computing Design ecosystem. A 10-year veteran of the electronics media industry, he enjoys covering topics ranging from development kits to cybersecurity and tech business models. Brandon received a BA in English Literature from Arizona State University, where he graduated cum laude. He can be reached at [email protected].

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