Until now we had not completely decided whether or not to include an internal speaker in the PGB-1. For one main reason. Given the goal of an extremely compact device, the speaker has to be very small, and therefore cannot deliver an amazing sound. And we didn’t want to advertise a gimmick feature.

So what changed? Well two things.

First, an observation during prototyping. Even if the sound is not great, being able to just pick the device and start playing is a plus. Handing out the PGB-1 to friends and family, some were disappointed to not hear any sound when pressing buttons on the device. Sound quality is not very important here, what matters is instant feedback and the ability to share what you play with people around.

Second, we just gave it a try… Using one of the Noise Nugget dev-boards mentioned in a previous update, we tested various micro speakers from Same Sky (formerly CUI Devices). And it sounded better than expected.

We settled on the CES-20134-088. This speaker fits perfectly within the PGB-1 case, and comes with an adhesive foam gasket that improves performance.

We also added 4 solder pads on the main PCB so that you can create a custom PGB-1 with bigger stereo speakers if you wish to.

Production Update

We received more components such as assembly hardware and the speakers mentioned above.

A new revision of the Noise Nugget with a new codec has been developed and tested to avoid shortage of the codec used in previous designs. Development of the main board is also complete, and as we write these lines the last pieces (case and keyboard) of the production prototype are in route. More on that in the next update.

As always, if you have any questions on this topic or anything else, there are several ways to reach us. You can use the campaign question form, join the Wee Noise Makers Discord Server, or contact us on our social media channels.