ESP-S3-BOX-3 Voice Assistant speaker volume too low

[stalakerob]

The speaker volume of the Box-3 Voice Assistant is very low. Even in a quiet room you can barely hear it. Increasing the volume_multiplier config setting does not change anything.

[nickrout]

Esp-s3-box (ie the non -3) is the same.

[jaymunro]

Volume on mine is quite acceptable for me.
For comparison, I did an audio dB measurement at 50cm using the Alan TTS model in piper. Result at 50cm was 71dB max.

[stalakerob]

I recently installed the stock demo firmware to check the max volume. It allows you to play a few MP3 files. Increasing the volume makes the playback pretty loud. Much loader than with ESPHome. This means its not a hardware issue but a ESPHome issue.

[letsautomatenet]

Interestingly this is the same issue you get with the Sonoff TX Ultimate light switch when you flash that with ESPHome and use is as a media player / TTS.

Hopefully the ESPHome brains will figure it out.

[sammcj]

I have a esp-s3-box-3 with a very quiet speaker (using it with home assistant/esphome) - is there a standard way to set the volume on these?

Confusingly the volume_multiplier configuration parameter seems to be related to the microphone gain, rather than the volume of the speaker.

[crudolphy]

I have the same issue with both the esp-s3-box-3 and the atom m5 echo device. Even with my hearing aids in I can't hear the response. Hopefully someone is working on this.

[sammcj]

@cfrudolphy so I've got a bit of a dodgy hack for my specific use case with esphome and the esp-s3-box-3, not sure if you can adapt for your usage - https://github.com/sammcj/esphome-esp-s3-box-3-volume

[crudolphy]

Thanks for this. But first I have to get it adopted into the ESPHome add-on. Try tomorrow. Chuck Rudolphy 346.383.6920 Mobile from my Pixel 6

…

On Mon, Mar 4, 2024, 5:37 PM Sam ***@***.***> wrote: @cfrudolphy <https://github.com/cfrudolphy> so I've got a bit of a dodgy hack for my specific use case with esphome and the esp-s3-box-3, not sure if you can adapt for your usage - https://github.com/sammcj/esphome-esp-s3-box-3-volume — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#139 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/ANZHFV6UKLCHULTQOISGMJ3YWUAS7AVCNFSM6AAAAABBMR6Y2GVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMYTSNZXGY2TKOJUGQ> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[dmakovec]

@sammcj thanks for hacking this out. I'm a bit unfamiliar with how types get cast, but reading your notes and inserting the output.set_level call into the esphome's on_boot sequence, I'm seeing the following. Any tips on what I might have missed? TIA!

 on_boot: 
    - priority: 600.0
      then: 
        - output.set_level: 
            
            ID 'speaker_volume' of type esp_box_volume::ESPBoxVolume doesn't inherit from output::FloatOutput. Please double check your ID is pointing to the correct value.
            id: speaker_volume
            level: 0.85
        - script.execute: 
        ..

[sammcj]

@dmakovec the volume code isn't in the upstream jesserockz/esp32-s3-box-3-board board repository, you'd have to use / adapt my fork linked above to be able to call esp_box_volume.

I opened a PR with @jesserockz to get it merged in - jesserockz/esp32-s3-box-3-board#4

[mihsu81]

@sammcj I have the same issue even after the PR has been merged.

  on_boot: 
     - priority: 600.0
       then: 
          - output.set_level: 
            
              ID 'speaker_volume' of type esp_box_volume::ESPBoxVolume doesn't inherit from output::FloatOutput. Please double check your ID is pointing to the correct value.
              id: speaker_volume
              level: 0.85

[jaymunro]

I have the same issue even after the PR has been merged.

@mihsu81 are you using release 2024.3.1 or dev of the ESPHome addon? The PR has not yet made its way there. I think you'd have to compile a plugin using Jessie's repo to use this or possibly link it in as an external component or something. Not sure how though. I'm sure I'll be one of many eagerly reviewing release notes on the next versions of ESPHome addon.

[mihsu81]

I'm having the same issues with ESPHome 2024.4.0-dev. I've opened a new issue in @sammcj's repo sammcj/esphome-esp-s3-box-3-volume#1.

[cl0ud6uru]

Any updates on this? So far everything works great but the speaker volume is almost impossible to hear. As mentioned above, the stock firmware out of the box was plenty loud. I've got the radar and battery sensor working, but I'm at a loss on volume control.

[fire219]

Confirming it's still an issue. ESPHome 2024.4.2, have added the external_component for esp_box_volume and even switched the board component source to sammcj's:

components:
      - name: esp32_s3_box_3_board
        source: github://sammcj/esphome-esp-s3-box-3-volume@main
        refresh: always

Same applies on jesserocks' repo and/or without the external_component. Any permutation still gets the ID 'speaker_volume' of type esp_box_volume::ESPBoxVolume doesn't inherit from output::FloatOutput. Please double check your ID is pointing to the correct value. error.

After digging through the commits to jesserockz/esp32-s3-box-3-board#4, it looks like the syntax for setting the volume should be a bit different (eg no need for the esp_box_volume declaration and id), but I'm not smart enough to figure out how to use it. Trying to apply the volume level to the speaker (box_speaker in the HA voice assistant script) gives a similar error as before, but for esp_adf::ESPADFSpeaker.

[hargcore]

Same thing here I can't hear the spoken words on the speaker after the click - I am using Piper (Alan-Low) as my TTS response on my HA Voice Assistant but tried others. If I use the same TTS set up in the Services Dev Tools out of a speaker it plays the full audio end to end at normal volume. Latest version of HA and all add-ons installed and a fresh S3 install as of today.

[cl0ud6uru]

Same thing here I can't hear the spoken words on the speaker after the click - I am using Piper (Alan-Low) as my TTS response on my HA Voice Assistant but tried others. If I use the same TTS set up in the Services Dev Tools out of a speaker it plays the full audio end to end at normal volume. Latest version of HA and all add-ons installed and a fresh S3 install as of today.

Mine is no longer playing any sound after the last update. Are you getting sound at all?

[hargcore]

I discovered the "no sound at all" issue is related to the last update. The fix is here. So unrelated to this muted sound issue:
esphome/issues#5791 (comment)

[styphonthal]

anyone have luck adjusting the sound?

[Windyo]

Neither. i tried a few things including using a lambda to directly call audio_board_set_volume from the board definition but no dice. I'd love for @sammcj or @jesserockz to give us a pointer on how to call this function because I've spent more than a few hours on this and I am lost.