music maker featherwing volume too low

[ltreebs]

I'm using built-in stereo amplifier version of the music maker featherwing with nRF52 and have attached 8ohm/0.5W speakers and 4ohm/3W speakers and set the volume to highest in the code:

// Set volume for left, right channels. lower numbers == louder volume!
musicPlayer.setVolume(0,0);

I've connected to USB power to laptop and to a power supply with 2A output, but still the volume is not very loud at all. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Do I need to use externally powered speakers? I really don't want to have to externally power the speakers.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Post a photo showing your hardware and connections and we'll take a look. 800x600 images usually work best.

[ltreebs]

Hardware connections are pretty straightforward so let me know if theres something specific you want me to take photo of.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Everything looks okay there.

Is the 4-ohm speaker louder than the 8-ohm one?

[ltreebs]

No difference that i can tell. Changing volume from 0 to 20 in code has a noticeable difference but the 0 setting is not loud at all. I'm expecting it to be as loud as my cell phone.

[adafruit_support_mike]

Sorry for the delay.

I can't say how the Music Maker will compare to a cell phone's speaker output. The Music Maker's output amplifier is rated for 2.2W, which is probably low compared to a phone, and the phone could be using a 3-ohm speaker. That would draw more current than an 8-ohm speaker, and would be proportionally louder.

Try measuring the current flowing into the Feather and Music Maker while it's running at maximum volume to see how much power it's using.