The Raspberry Pi single-board computer has its place at the forefront of the popularity of such systems for a reason. In the maker community, the very high degree of customizability by means of hardware extensions is particularly popular. At the same time, the board can also be used as a normal notebook. USB interfaces ensure simple yet varied connection options.

The Reddit user plazman 30 has made use of the aforementioned possibilities and thus developed an innovative concept with which Raspberry Pi becomes a music playback device. With the help of a vu meter, he was able to get a display of the volume and possible oversteering. At the same time, the hopping bars of the vu-merger also create a very attractive design.

The vu meter used, however, is a rather expensive component compared to the overall system The single-board calculator is available online for as little as 30 euros. However, there are also cheaper alternatives to the vu-meter, but users may have to make compromises in terms of appearance. plazman 30 also provides a list of all components used. He uses a Raspberry Pi 3B + as a basis and a JDS Labs OL DAC. This digital-to-analog converter was connected to the board via USB. The vu-meter was then connected to this via RCA. On the software side, Raspbian is used. A convenient remote control via iPhone by Rigelian is also integrated. A link to the post with video and instructions to do it yourself is available here.