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Very Low Volume even at MAX - Printable Version

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Very Low Volume even at MAX - MartinBanner - 03-26-2026

I finally have it working with esphome. Unfortunately I'm unable to use it - or any local device - for a voice assistant. My host is too old without AVX to host Whisper. However I still have it working as a smart speaker able to play media and tts just fine (not easy!). However the volume is too low no matter what I do. I can hear it but barely. From the marketing pictures the speaker appears to be 8 ohm at 3W. I have a few Gen1 Amazon Dots and they appear to be only about 1.2W and are much much louder than the AS. Are there any hints to maximize the volume? I'm running the most current version of Esphome builder and Home Assistant as of the date of this post.

I've commented out volume_max as it is said the default is 100%, but I've tried many values with no improvement.

Thanks for any help

Martin

Here's the yaml

Code:
# Whisper addon cannot be started on the HP Microserver
# Voice Assistant will not work
# AVX instruction set required. Not avail on Turion II
# only Instructionsets: MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4A,
# AMD64, AMD-V (AMD Virtualization), and EVP (Enhanced Virus Protection).

esphome:
  name: as
  friendly_name: AS
  platformio_options:
    board_build.flash_mode: dio
  on_boot:
    - light.turn_on:
        id: led_ww
        blue: 100%
        brightness: 60%
        effect: fast pulse

esp32:
  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
  framework:
    type: esp-idf
    sdkconfig_options:
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DEFAULT_CPU_FREQ_240: "y"
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DATA_CACHE_64KB: "y"
      CONFIG_ESP32S3_DATA_CACHE_LINE_64B: "y"
      CONFIG_AUDIO_BOARD_CUSTOM: "y"
 
psram:
  mode: octal  # quad for N8R2 and octal for N16R8
  speed: 80MHz

# Enable logging
logger:
  hardware_uart: USB_SERIAL_JTAG

# Enable Home Assistant API
api:
  encryption:
    key: "TFpb+pBAvQIS1MVwaA7EoJ2DkpWE+79UvVro7yMyGdU="

ota:
  - platform: esphome
    password: "******************"

wifi:
  ssid: "wifi"
  password: "***************************"
  fast_connect: True
  manual_ip:
    static_ip: 192.168.55.127 #WiFi
    gateway: 192.168.55.1
    subnet: 255.255.255.0
    dns1: 192.168.55.1
  # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails
  ap:
    ssid: "Esp32-S3-Wake-Word"
    password: "*************"

captive_portal:

button:
  - platform: restart
    name: "Restart"
    id: but_rest
 
light:
  - platform: esp32_rmt_led_strip
    id: led_ww
    rgb_order: GRB
    pin: GPIO16
    num_leds: 1
    chipset: ws2812
    name: "on board light"
    effects:
      - pulse:
      - pulse:
          name: "Fast Pulse"
          transition_length: 0.5s
          update_interval: 0.5s
          min_brightness: 0%
          max_brightness: 100%

i2s_audio:
  - id: i2s_output
    i2s_lrclk_pin: GPIO6  #LRC
    i2s_bclk_pin: GPIO7 #BLCK

speaker:
  - platform: i2s_audio
    id: i2s_audio_speaker
    dac_type: external
    sample_rate: 48000
    i2s_dout_pin:
      number: GPIO8
    bits_per_sample: 32bit
    i2s_audio_id: i2s_output
    timeout: never
    buffer_duration: 100ms
    channel: mono
    # sample_rate: 16000
    # bits_per_sample: 32bit
  # Virtual speakers to combine the announcement and media streams together into one output
  - platform: mixer
    id: mixing_speaker
    output_speaker: i2s_audio_speaker
    # num_channels: 2
    num_channels: 1
    source_speakers:
      - id: announcement_mixing_input
        timeout: never
      - id: media_mixing_input
        timeout: never
  # Vritual speakers to resample each pipelines' audio, if necessary, as the mixer speaker requires the same sample rate
  - platform: resampler
    id: announcement_resampling_speaker
    output_speaker: announcement_mixing_input
    sample_rate: 48000
    bits_per_sample: 16
  - platform: resampler
    id: media_resampling_speaker
    output_speaker: media_mixing_input
    sample_rate: 48000
    bits_per_sample: 16

media_player:
  - platform: speaker
    id: external_media_player
    name: Media Player
    internal: False
    volume_increment: 0.05
    volume_min: 0.4
#    volume_max: 0.85 # when amp gain connected to ground. Avoids cutting out.
    icon: mdi:speaker-wireless
    announcement_pipeline:
      speaker: announcement_resampling_speaker
      format: FLAC    # FLAC is the least processor intensive codec
      num_channels: 1  # Stereo audio is unnecessary for announcements
      sample_rate: 48000
    media_pipeline:
      speaker: media_resampling_speaker
      format: FLAC    # FLAC is the least processor intensive codec
      # num_channels: 2
      num_channels: 1
      sample_rate: 48000
    on_announcement:
      - mixer_speaker.apply_ducking:
          id: media_mixing_input
          decibel_reduction: 20
          duration: 0.0s