opensymf

Open-source conversion of IKEA SYMFONISK and Sonos speakers to Raspberry Pi-based audio players — escaping vendor lock-in while keeping the original hardware.

The Fleet

Seven speakers converted across the house, all running piCorePlayer with Lyrion Music Server (formerly Logitech Media Server) and integrated with Home Assistant.

Qty	Speaker	DAC/Amp	GPIO Integration	Status
4×	IKEA SYMFONISK Bookshelf (Gen 2)	IQaudIO DigiAMP+ SC0370	Buttons + LEDs	✅ Complete
2×	IKEA SYMFONISK Picture Frame	IQaudIO DigiAMP+ SC0370	Audio only	⚠️ Partial
1×	Sonos Play:5 (Gen 1)	HiFiBerry DAC+	N/A (line-in)	✅ Complete

All speakers run on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 WH (pre-soldered header variant).

Why?

Sonos ended support for older speakers including the Play:5 Gen 1, effectively stranding them on a frozen S1 platform with no future updates or integration with newer devices. IKEA SYMFONISK speakers, being Sonos-based internally, face the same fate. This project replaces the proprietary brains while keeping the original power supplies, speaker drivers, buttons, and LEDs intact.

Two Conversion Approaches

SYMFONISK speakers → The original Sonos board handles everything (DAC + amplification), so the IQaudIO DigiAMP+ replaces both functions and drives the passive speaker drivers directly through its screw terminals.

Sonos Play:5 Gen 1 → Already has five Class-D amplifiers, six drivers, and a line-in jack. A RPi Zero + HiFiBerry DAC+ plugged into the line-in was all it needed — the original board is still inside, completely untouched.

For full hardware details and ALSA configuration, see docs/HARDWARE.md.

Repository Structure

opensymf/
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── scripts/
│   ├── boot_health_check.sh      # Post-boot system health checks
│   ├── sbpd-script.sh            # Physical button daemon
│   └── led_monitor_squeezelite.sh # Continuous LED status monitor
└── docs/
    ├── GPIO_PINOUT.md            # Full pinout reference (mapped via multimeter)
    ├── HARDWARE.md               # HAT specs, ALSA config, sourcing
    ├── images/                   # Architecture diagram, PCB photos
    ├── datasheets/               # IQaudIO & DigiAMP+ product briefs
    └── reference/                # piCorePlayer docs, Pi pinout

Scripts

All scripts are designed for piCorePlayer's Tiny Core Linux environment. They execute at boot in the following order (configured via piCorePlayer web UI → Tweaks → User commands):

1. boot_health_check.sh

Post-boot health checks with LED feedback:

Check	Threshold	Source
Disk usage	< 90%	df /
CPU temperature	< 75°C	/sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone0/temp
WiFi connectivity	wlan0 has IP	ifconfig wlan0
Internet reachability	ping succeeds	ping 8.8.8.8

Result: 3× green blink = all passed, 3× red blink = failure.

2. sbpd-script.sh

Initializes sbpd (Squeeze Button Pi Daemon) to map the front-panel buttons to Squeezelite commands via GPIO:

Button	GPIO	Short Press	Long Press
Play/Pause	27	PLAY	PLAY
Volume +	23	VOL+	VOL+ (repeat)
Volume -	24	VOL-	VOL- (repeat)

3. led_monitor_squeezelite.sh

Continuous monitoring loop (5-second interval) driving the status LEDs:

LED	Meaning
⚪ White	Normal — Squeezelite running, server reachable
🟡 Amber	Warning — Squeezelite not running, server reachable
🔴 Red	Error — Server unreachable

WiFi Recovery

The biggest operational headache with WiFi-connected Pis is connection drops. A progressive self-healing recovery system is integrated into the monitoring:

1. WiFi power management disabled at startup (iwconfig wlan0 power off)
2. After 1 min of failures → wpa_cli reassociate
3. After 3 min → full WiFi interface restart
4. After 5 min → system reboot (max 3 attempts — prevents boot loops)

All recovery attempts logged to /tmp/wifi_recovery.log.

GPIO Mapping

The SYMFONISK Bookshelf Gen 2 front panel uses a WOW B NFC/KEY BOARD P0.3 (16-pin FPC, 1.0mm pitch). None of this is documented by IKEA/Sonos — every pin was traced with a multimeter.

See docs/GPIO_PINOUT.md for the complete pinout table, wire colors, and photos.

Quick reference:

Component	GPIO	Function
Green LED	13	Health check OK
White LED	5	Normal operation
Amber LED	17	Squeezelite warning
Red LED	6	Server error
Play/Pause	27	Player control
Volume +	23	Volume up
Volume -	24	Volume down

Installation

These scripts target piCorePlayer's Tiny Core Linux environment.

# Copy scripts to the speaker
scp scripts/*.sh tc@<speaker-ip>:/home/tc/

# SSH in
ssh tc@<speaker-ip>

# Make executable
chmod +x /home/tc/*.sh

# Configure boot execution order in piCorePlayer web UI:
#   Tweaks > User commands:
#     /home/tc/boot_health_check.sh
#     /home/tc/sbpd-script.sh
#     /home/tc/led_monitor_squeezelite.sh

# IMPORTANT: persist changes to the RAM-based filesystem
pcp bu

Configuration

Edit led_monitor_squeezelite.sh to set your Lyrion Music Server IP:

SERVER_IP="192.168.181.102"   # Change to your LMS IP
SERVER_PORT=9090              # Default LMS CLI port

⚠️ piCorePlayer runs entirely from RAM. Always run pcp bu after making changes, or they will be lost on reboot. Be especially careful with tar operations — incorrect usage can corrupt the system, requiring physical SD card removal for recovery.

Software Stack

Component	Purpose
piCorePlayer	Lightweight audio OS (RAM-based)
Lyrion Music Server	Music library and streaming
Squeezelite	Audio player client
sbpd	Physical button daemon
Home Assistant	Automation, TTS, presence-based playback

Known Issues

• SYMFONISK Picture Frame: the ribbon cable dimensions are incompatible with the bookshelf version's FPC connector, and the LED appears to be a different type (likely addressable). Audio works fine via the DigiAMP+, but button/LED GPIO integration is not yet implemented.
• piCorePlayer fragility: the RAM-based architecture is unforgiving — one bad config change and you're pulling the SD card. Always backup before changes.
• WiFi power management: the Pi's default power-saving mode causes frequent disconnects. Disable it at boot or the speakers will drop off the network.

Inspiration & References

• MagPi Magazine #139 — "Upcycle a Sonos Play:1" by PJ Evans (pages 62-65): step-by-step Play:1 conversion using Raspberry Pi 3A + JustBoom DAC & AMP
• piCorePlayer documentation — Control by rotary encoders and buttons
• sbpd (SqueezeButtonPi-Daemon)
• Jivelite key commands reference

License

MIT