Hardware improvement

[apiel]

CPU / SBC alternative

Raspberry Pi is a good way to start for DIY project but maybe there would be other solution that would be either easier or more efficient.
One could be to use Allwinner board (e.g. Orange Pi) that in some case expose audio input and output to the GPIO. Ultimately, the best would be to build a PCB with already the CPU on it, so no need of external SBC anymore and this could reduce a lot the form factor.
Another path, could be to go in the direction of x86 single board computer. This could open much more possibility and maybe use some DAW plugin... and would also make development much easier, as we could have exactly the same working environment or even use the groovebox has computer.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_sBF2d9tI
• https://www.youyeetoo.com/products/youyeetoo-x1-x86-single-board-computer?VariantsId=11287

I think my favourite option would be to have the CPU has part of the ZicBox pcb in order to reduce the footprint, but I don't think at the moment to have the knowledge for this. However, I think that the x86 appraoch can be also very interesting.

Display

Choosing the right display is always difficult. Luckily ZicBox is flexible enough to adapt to any screen sizes... However, I still try to find out what would be the best: small and cheap screen to reduce cost, or big touch screen for amazing UX.
In one way I dream to have a big wide screen where we could show many thing, it would just look so cool. But then, I could just use my laptop and problem solve ^^
I think for starting a project, reducing cost might be a better choice and once the project is more stable, maybe design some more fancy solutions.

Battery ?

Having a battery would be amazing to be able to use ZicBox everywhere :-) To have a built-in battery, we need a charger controller and a DC/DC converter, see https://www.circuitbasics.com/how-to-power-your-raspberry-pi-with-a-lithium-battery/

There is some nice kit with those already build-in:

• https://geekworm.com/products/raspberry-pi-4-x703-18650-ups-shield-with-auto-power-on-function
• https://geekworm.com/products/x1201
• https://geekworm.com/products/x306

Another option, would be to buy some powerbank and disassemble them...

RGB keypad vs capcitive keypad vs ??

TBD.

DAC

TBD.

[ForeverNooob]

Interesting thoughts along with an interesting project!

IMO:

• Platform: Perhaps focusing on the userbase could be one of the considerations. The Pi for example has a huge DIY userbase which might also mean more contributors. However, the x86 (while being a more closed platform) has perhaps an even bigger userbase and platform support, but may lack the kind of users which you'd get if you'd focus on the Pi users. I guess it comes down to a balance.

• Display: I wouldn't mind a display with touch support. That could drastically increase the interactivity with the device.

• Battery: I like the powerbank approach much more than any internal battery one. I get to choose with which powerbank I power the device and I find swapping powerbanks to be much easier than swapping internal batteries.

[apiel]

Thx for the feedback.

• And I agree, RPi will most likely attract more the DIY community, so it make sense to stick to this ;-)
• On the video I posted yesterday, the display is touchscreen. This display is quiet expensive, around 60€. On the new version I am building, I will use a small display without touchscreen that cost around 10-15€. I don't really know what matter most to people, cost or big touch screen... and I guess this really depends of people budget.