Pironman 5 Max Pro Internal Speakers Not Playing on Raspberry Pi OS — Clarification Needed on HDMI0 vs HifiBerry/I2S Audio Path

General
1

Hello SunFounder Forum Community,

I am requesting help with the internal speaker audio configuration on the Pironman 5 Max Pro with a Raspberry Pi 5 running Raspberry Pi OS / Debian Trixie.

I have confirmed that the internal speakers are physically connected and functional. Earlier in my setup process, I accidentally booted into a different Linux UI instead of Raspberry Pi OS, and in that environment, every keyboard keypress was read aloud through the Pironman internal speakers. That tells me the speakers, amplifier, and physical wiring are working.

Also, sound plays correctly when I connect and select a Bluetooth speaker. This confirms that Raspberry Pi OS / PipeWire can produce audio output generally. The issue appears limited to getting audio routed correctly to the Pironman 5 Max Pro internal speakers.

My main confusion is whether the Pironman 5 Max Pro internal speakers are supposed to receive audio from HDMI0, or from a separate HifiBerry/I2S-style audio card.

My current setup:

  • Raspberry Pi 5

  • Pironman 5 Max Pro

  • Raspberry Pi OS / Debian Trixie

  • External monitor connected to HDMI1

  • SPEAKER jumper currently set to AUTO

  • Nothing plugged into the 3.5mm audio jack

  • Internal microphone appears to be detected as a USB audio device

  • Internal speakers are wired to the Pironman board, not USB

From what I read in SunFounder documentation, the Pironman 5 Max Pro internal speakers may not play if HDMI0 is connected or if the 3.5mm audio jack is used, because the system/hardware detection disables the internal speakers depending on the SPEAKER jumper position and dtparam=audio=on.

I moved my external monitor from HDMI0 to HDMI1 and rebooted, expecting that to allow the internal speakers to work while the SPEAKER jumper remains in AUTO mode. However, I still cannot get clear confirmation that sound is being routed to the correct internal speaker output.

Current wpctl status output:

Audio
 ├─ Devices:
 │      48. PCM2902 Audio Codec                 [alsa]
 │      49. Built-in Audio                      [alsa]
 │      50. Built-in Audio                      [alsa]
 │      51. Built-in Audio                      [alsa]
 │
 ├─ Sinks:
 │  *   44. Built-in Audio Stereo               [vol: 1.00]
 │      46. Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (HDMI) [vol: 1.00]
 │      84. Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (HDMI) [vol: 1.00]
 │
 ├─ Sources:
 │  *   58. PCM2902 Audio Codec Analog Mono     [vol: 1.00]

Settings
 └─ Default Configured Devices:
         0. Audio/Sink    alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback

When I inspect the “Built-in Audio Stereo” sink, I get:

wpctl inspect 44

Relevant output:

alsa.card = "3"
alsa.card_name = "snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac"
api.alsa.card.name = "snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac"
api.alsa.path = "hw:3"
api.alsa.pcm.card = "3"
node.description = "Built-in Audio Stereo"
node.name = "alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback"
object.path = "alsa:acp:sndrpihifiberry:1:playback"

My aplay -l output shows:

card 0: vc4hdmi0 [vc4-hdmi-0], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
card 1: vc4hdmi1 [vc4-hdmi-1], device 0: MAI PCM i2s-hifi-0
card 3: sndrpihifiberry [snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac], device 0: HifiBerry DAC HiFi pcm5102a-hifi-0

The PCM2902 device appears to be the microphone:

PCM2902 Audio Codec Analog Mono

So I believe the PCM2902 is only the mic and not the internal speaker output.

I have tried the following:

  1. Confirmed the USB microphone/audio device is detected:
lsusb

Output includes:

Texas Instruments PCM2902 Audio Codec
  1. Confirmed the USB microphone appears as capture only:
arecord -l
  1. Confirmed the HDMI outputs are visible:
aplay -l
  1. Tested HDMI0 and HDMI1 directly:
speaker-test -D plughw:0,0 -t wav -c 2
speaker-test -D plughw:1,0 -t wav -c 2

No sound came from the internal speakers during those tests.

  1. Confirmed that sound does play when a Bluetooth speaker is connected and selected as the output device.

  2. Found that the internal speaker path appears to be:

snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac

and tested it directly:

aplay -D plughw:3,0 /usr/share/sounds/alsa/Front_Center.wav

The command runs and plays the file, but I am still looking for confirmation that this is the intended Pironman internal speaker audio path.

  1. Set the HifiBerry/I2S-style sink as default:
pactl set-default-sink alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback
pactl set-sink-volume alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback 100%
pactl set-sink-mute alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback 0
  1. Installed and checked pavucontrol. The internal speaker path appears as:
Built-in Audio Stereo

while the HDMI outputs both appear as:

Built-in Audio Digital Stereo (HDMI)

My main questions:

  1. Are the Pironman 5 Max Pro internal speakers supposed to receive audio from vc4-hdmi-0 / HDMI0, or from snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac / HifiBerry DAC / I2S?

  2. If the internal speakers are driven by the HifiBerry/I2S-style card, is this the correct default output?

alsa_output.platform-soc_107c000000_sound.stereo-fallback

  1. Does the SPEAKER jumper in AUTO mode mute the speakers based on HDMI0/headphone detection even when the OS audio output is set to the HifiBerry/I2S card?

  2. Should users leave the SPEAKER jumper in ON instead of AUTO when using an external monitor on HDMI1 and wanting the internal speakers active?

  3. Is dtparam=audio=on supposed to remain enabled, or should it be disabled when using the Pironman internal speakers through the DAC/I2S path?

  4. Is dtparam=i2s=on required for the Pironman 5 Max Pro internal speakers?

  5. Is there a recommended /boot/firmware/config.txt audio configuration for the Pironman 5 Max Pro on Raspberry Pi OS?

My current relevant /boot/firmware/config.txt lines are:

dtparam=audio=on
dtparam=i2s=on
dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d
disable_fw_kms_setup=1

I am specifically trying to understand whether I should be configuring sound through:

vc4-hdmi-0 / HDMI0

or:

snd_rpi_hifiberry_dac / Built-in Audio Stereo / hw:3,0

Any official clarification, recommended config file settings, jumper setting guidance, or troubleshooting steps would be very helpful.

Thank you.

2

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