Passive Speaker Conversion | DSP Advice (ADAU1701), TinySine TSA8800B vs Wondom JAB5, Bluetooth + High-Quality Audio

I'm about to start my first DIY audio project and build my first active speaker using some passive speakers I already have. The speakers are from a brand called Sonab, and I’ve had them for many years (fuge series).

My goal is to build an active speaker system that will:

  • Connect with other speakers (master-slave setup),
  • Include Bluetooth (with high transfer rates),
  • Have advanced audio inputs,
  • And of course, use a well-designed acoustic enclosure for the speaker.
I studied Electrical Engineering, and during my degree, I took some courses on Signal Processing, including Audio DSP, so I’m not afraid to dive deep and even build the system using separate components if needed. I’d love to end up with a robust system with great sound quality.

During my research, I found two interesting all-in-one boards that seem to cover most of what I need:
Both are based on the same DSP (ADAU1701) and offer similar power output, which seems to match my needs.

However, after reading some threads here on DIYAudio, I noticed that some people don’t fully recommend using these boards and suggest going in another direction—usually more expensive when looking at a full system.

Since I’m willing to explore and buy separate boards to build my own setup, I’d really appreciate some advice:
  • Is there a better DSP/audio processor you'd recommend that has good performance?
  • Has anyone here used TinySine or Wondom (especially JAB5 or TSA8800B) and achieved good sound qualityafter proper DSP configuration?
For reference, my speaker will be around 220W RMS total, built from one woofer, two midrange drivers, and one tweeter. I still need to measure each driver’s individual power, but I couldn’t find full specs yet.

Thanks in advance for your help and tips!
Shay
 
I've used the Dayton Audio equivalent of the JAB4, which is lower power than the JAB5 but same DSP. For your first project, reusing old drivers, they're probably good enough. If you're worried about it, keep them separate from your main speaker enclosures and you can always upgrade in the future (I have one in a chassis with a power supply and programming board mounted to the top for prototyping - easy to use and them remove).