$4.6MIL PRE-SEED ANNOUNCEMENT

Buzzers and speakers

A 5 V active buzzer and a 4 Ω speaker both make sound, but they need completely different drive circuits.

Active alert buzzer

3–5 V DC → fixed tone

Small breadboard-friendly buzzer for simple on/off alerts. It makes its own roughly 2 kHz tone, so software only needs to switch it on and off.

from $0.951 boardIn stock

Passive full-range speaker

4 Ω speaker → amplifier

Larger 4 inch speaker for amplified sound, speech or music. It is a low-impedance load and should be driven from an audio amplifier, not a GPIO pin.

from €16.561 boardIn stock

Can I swap these?

Pick the board you have - we'll show what we know about swapping it.

Known swap options (1)

General board checks (5)
  • Is the part active or passive? Active buzzers make their own tone; passive speakers need an audio signal and amplifier.
  • Check supply voltage, current draw, GPIO pin limits and whether a transistor or amplifier is required.
  • If you need music, speech or variable pitch, use a speaker plus amplifier rather than a fixed-tone buzzer.
  • If you need a simple alert, a buzzer is usually smaller and simpler than a speaker path.
  • Check mounting diameter, enclosure/cavity needs and volume target before swapping hardware.