I’m excited to announce a new open-source project: a drop-in PCB replacement for the Google Nest Audio that converts it into a fully local Home Assistant voice assistant!
Background
This project is inspired by the amazing nest-mini-drop-in-pcb by @iMike78. After seeing the success of converting Nest Mini speakers, I wanted to tackle the bigger brother - the Nest Audio with its superior speaker drivers.
Current Status
Project initialized
GitHub repo created
Documentation started
3D scanning at local library (next week!)
PCB design (waiting for measurements)
Prototype testing
Hardware Specs (Planned)
ESP32-S3R8 (WiFi, BLE, wake word)
XMOS XU316 DSP (AEC, beamforming)
Compatible with Nest Audio’s dual speakers
USB-C + 14V barrel power
Drop-in replacement (uses original mounting)
Why This Matters
The Nest Audio has much better audio hardware than the Mini but is still locked to Google’s ecosystem. This PCB will unlock it for Home Assistant users who want high-quality local voice control.
Just to add some context from my side: the Nest Audio is also on my long-term roadmap. However, since it’s a higher-priced speaker with significantly lower market penetration compared to the Home/Nest Mini, it naturally ended up lower in priority.
My focus so far has been on serving the largest existing user base — people who already own Minis in large numbers and want to give them a second life and/or de-Google them.
Looking forward to seeing how this evolves, and best of luck with the project.
FYI, also see that @rauli2780 has started his own discussions forum about this specific project in his GitHub repository for it to collect community feedback and input in the public (which I think is great for full transparency), see:
By the way, also check out this related general thread that discusses overall ideas about all these projects with drop-in replacement PCBs for different Google Home and Google Nest speakers that should be based on the generic Home Assistant Preview Edition circuit board design combining ESP32 chips with XMOS DSP and made for running ESPHome:
I’m guessing these would probably require a little bit more powerful amplifier. Very cool to see another project implement it other than satellite1. Following!
I actually have my nest audio (bricked from a preview program Gemini update a while back) currently dissembled, as I was going to attempt the same thing! However, as my first project dabbling in custom hardware spanning multiple domains, this naturally got put on the back burner.
My plan was to reuse the existing PWR board, which, as far as I understand, has a TAS5825M chip (smart audio amplifier) and possibly other DSP components. Was going to do initial prototype via I2S/I2C from a pi before learning how to design a custom PCB. From my chat gpt research and absolutely no real-world data, I figured the main logic board (labeled MLB on the ribbon cables) would be the only thing that needs replacing.
Given my nest audio has just been sitting in pieces for the last 3 months, I’d be more than happy to beta test prototypes!!
Edit: Just saw the discussions on the github mentioning the same PWR board!
Project initialized
3D scanning at local library (next week!)
PCB design (waiting for measurements)
GitHub: GitHub - rauli2780/nest-audio-pcb: Open-source drop-in PCB replacement for Google Nest Audio with Home Assistant integration
Looking for: Measurements, testing help, feedback
Discussions: This thread!
