What is it?
HiFi Esparagus and HiFi Esparagus S3 are handy, low-cost media devices that will upgrade your legacy audio system with internet streaming capabilities. It exposes line-level output that you can plug into active speakers, a stereo amplifier, or headphones. They use the legendary PCM5100 series DAC with supreme audio quality.
HiFi Esparagus is a feature-packed version of the HiFi-ESP32, with all you need to have to form a ready-to-use media center solution for a smart home
Our Crowd Supply campaign to back the manufacturing of the Esparagus series boards was successfully funded, thanks to everyone who made that possible.
Use cases
HiFi Esparagus is a flexible, open-source audio platform designed to fit into both smart homes and custom audio projects.
- Smart Home Audio & TTS
Integrates with Home Assistant and Music Assistant for high-quality audio playback and text-to-speech announcements. Perfect for notifications, voice alerts, and whole-home audio driven by your smart home automations. - Multi-Room Audio with Snapclient
Use HiFi Esparagus as a Snapclient endpoint to create perfectly synchronized multi-room audio systems. Ideal for distributed music playback without proprietary lock-in. - Standalone Player with Squeezelite-ESP32
Run Squeezelite-ESP32 for a self-contained network audio player supporting Spotify Connect, AirPlay, and Logitech Media Server (LMS) — no external computer required. - Educational Projects & Teaching Platforms
A powerful tool for schools, universities, and technical education. HiFi Esparagus can be used to teach embedded systems, digital audio, networking, and open-source software — ranging from simple audio playback labs to advanced DSP, streaming, and real-time systems projects. - Research, Prototyping & Experimentation
Well-suited for rapid prototyping of audio devices, proofs-of-concept, and research projects involving DSP, low-latency streaming, wireless audio, or human-machine interaction. - A Foundation for Custom Products & DIY Builds
With all firmware and tooling fully open source, HiFi Esparagus is an ideal base for custom audio devices — whether you’re building a personal DIY project, a small production run, or a community-driven product.
Features
| HiFi ESP (discontinued) | HiFi Esparagus | HiFi Esparagus S3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCU | ESP32-Mini Module | ESP32-WROVER-N8R8 | ESP32-S3-WROOM-N8R8 |
| DAC | PCM5100A 32-bit Stereo DAC -100 dB typical noise level | PCM5100A 32-bit Stereo DAC -100 dB typical noise level | PCM5100A 32-bit Stereo DAC -100 dB typical noise level |
| Output | Non-amplified stereo output, 2.1V RMS | Non-amplified stereo output, 2.1V RMS | Non-amplified stereo output, 2.1V RMS |
| IR reader | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| RGB LED | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| I2S Microphone | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Flash/PSRAM | 4MB/8MB | 8MB/8MB | 8MB/8MB |
| Connectivity | WiFi + BT4.2 + BLE | WiFi + BT4.2 + BLE + Ethernet | WiFi + BLE + Ethernet |
| Case | 80 x 50 x 20 mm Aluminum case | 80 x 50 x 20 mm Aluminum case | |
| Power requirement | 5V from USB-C | 5V from USB-C | 5V from USB-C |
⚠️HiFi boards require an external amplifier or active speakers; you can’t connect passive speakers to it.
💡Need to connect speakers as well? Check out Amped Esparagus
💡Need only speakers output? Check out Loud Esparagus
💡Need more powerful DSP? Check out Louder Esparagus
💡Looking for a more cost-efficient version? Check out HiFi-ESP32
Onboard PSRAM
Audio streaming requires proper buffering to work, even with the ESP32’s 500K of RAM; it is a challenging task. For that reason, all Louder-ESP32 board versions have an 8 MB PSRAM chip onboard, connected via a high-speed interface.
Firmware
- Home Assistant
Start from the web-installer, as soon as you configure WiFi, the boards will be discovered by the ESPHome add-in automatically. Dedicated configs can be found in the documentation for simple and stable media-player, experimental sendspin protocol, and experimental snapclient component - Squeezelite-ESP32
Flash directly from your browser using the web-installer, configure WiFi using Hotspot (default password: squeezelite). Don’t forget to exit Recovery mode when configured. - Snapclient
Flash directly from your browser using the web-installer, as soon as you configure the WiFi board, it will discover the snapserver automatically - Snaplient (edge)
Developer’s version of the snapclient, less stable and more feature-rich for those who cannot wait for new features to be released. Installed via web-installer, similar to standard snapclient - Your own software
Use Arduino IDE or Platformio IDE and the provided software samples
Using with Home Assistant
Both HiFi Esparagus versions were created specifically to be used with Home Assistant via ESPHome integration. For both boards, rich configs were pre-created with hardware configuration for common use cases. These include
- media_player component for simple and robust media playback and TTS announcements (with ducking effect)
- Sendspin media player – new experimental protocol for multi-room sync with media controls and more
- An experimental snapclient component that allows near-perfect multi-room sync and seamless integration with Music Assistant
- Another snapclient fork with an implemented 15-band software equalizer and a rich set of EQ presets
- Voice assist config for S3-based boards, allowing local voice-controlled assist and automation
Configurations are being actively maintained and upgraded, new experimental components added for you to test and enjoy
Documentation
Both the software and the hardware are fully open-source and available on the project’s GitHub. You can follow the project updates at Hackaday
Where to buy
You may support our work by ordering this product at Tindie and Elecrow
- HiFi Esparagus at Tindie and Elecrow ($45 MRSP, $40 at volume)
- HiFi Esparagus at Crowd Supply ($45 MRSP)
Sponsorship & Community Support
If you’re working on an open-source project, an educational initiative, or any pro-bono/volunteer effort, feel free to reach out for sponsorship details. I’ll do my best to provide discounts or even free boards.
Custom Design & Consultation
If you’re interested in a custom design based on or inspired by my boards, I also offer contract design work and consultation when needed.
In the press
Sonocotta’s ESParagus “Media Center” is a series of ESP32-based, open-source audio streamers (Crowdfunding) – CNX Software
The Esparagus HiFi MediaLink Utilizes ESP32 to Modernize Your Classic Stereo – Electronics Lab
Crowdfunding Project—Esparagus Media Center – PCBWay
