Can existing audio systems keep up with today’s streaming services? An indigenously developed interface brings Spotify playback to amplifiers that lack built-in streaming support.
Viprof Electronics has developed an interface that brings Spotify streaming to conventional audio amplifiers, allowing users to add network playback without replacing their existing equipment.
In an exclusive interaction, B S Srinivasan, managing partner at Viprof Electronics, explained the problem the device addresses. “Legacy power amplifiers do not have digital or Spotify inputs,” he said. The VE0126 connects streaming audio to an amplifier’s auxiliary input, bridging older audio hardware with smartphone-based music services.
The interface provides a line-level output of approximately 400–500mV and requires a separate power adapter. The smartphone and device must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network, while the existing amplifier continues to handle signal amplification. The device supports audio decoding at 24-bit/192kHz.
The company has also developed a separate 2.1-channel Class-D amplifier, rated at 50W each for the left and right channels and 50W for the subwoofer. It offers Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth connectivity, alongside smartphone app controls. The company specifies total harmonic distortion below 0.03% at 1kHz, 1W, 24V and a 4-ohm speaker load. Srinivasan said its efficiency exceeds 90%, reducing heat generation and enabling a plastic enclosure.
Both products reflect Viprof’s approach to electronics development: identifying unmet requirements and designing solutions around them. As Srinivasan put it, “Find out a requirement where there is a demand from the customer which has not been fulfilled till date by the existing manufacturers or the existing supply chain.”
The full interaction with Srinivasan explores the engineering behind these audio products, Viprof’s product-development approach, including opportunities to engage young engineers in practical model-making, and the challenges of bringing indigenous designs to market.
