u/AjackTheGreater1

So I've got this MSGEQ7 chip to analyze the frequency of music coming in from a standard AUX input jack. Only problem is that the signal is so high the chip's reading 1024 on nearly every band. The obvious solution is to put a voltage divider between the AUX and the chip... but I bought the chip on a breakout board that has the AUX input already hooked up. I know that limits me pretty significantly (in my defense the chip itself shipped 2-3 weeks out for twice the price; the board was was 3 days for cheaper), but is there a way to make this work without tearing the board apart?

Hello! I'm working on a passion project, the goal of which is to create an EQ Visualizer for my record player. I'm using WS2812B Addressable LEDs arranged in a matrix (powered externally via 5v wall adapter + 1000uF capacitor) that flow along a single continuous signal pin (for now, may adjust as needed if the results don't work to accurately). Although I'm early in the project, I've run into some issues and see some bigger obstacles on the horizon, so any expertise or advice on any of these topics would be appreciated!

--LEDs--

- The first LED in the chain seems to do whatever it wants. It flickers, it turns off, its brightness changes, its color changes. All the other LEDs downstream behave (mostly) as they should, but the very first one cannot be controlled.

- The total LED count will likely be ~=500 (25 strips of 20 LEDs/strip), which is past the limit recommended by the manufacturer for reliable power. I'm pretty sure this is an easy fix of simply powering half with one adapter/capacitor pair and the other half with a second adapter, but any workarounds or tips?

- Is running this off one pin better or worse than splitting the workload? With an Uno, I don't have enough digital pins to assign one pin per 20 LED strip, but I could definitely consolidate to 1pin/3-5strips. Would this be faster or slower? More/less reliable? Is the solution to upscale my hardware to a Mega or above?

--Audio--

- I've found a few libraries that sort incoming audio (from microphones) into "Pitch Bins" via FFT, but I don't want to use a mic due to ambient noise. I want the EQ visualizer to exclusively take in the audio signal coming off my record player as input. I can achieve this with an audio splitter (1 into my speaker, the other into a 1/4" audio jack), but couldn't I do the same with a simple speaker wire directed into an analogue pin via breadboard?

- Is an Arduino fast enough to intake audio, separate it by frequency, reduce each frequency to a single relative value, and send the LED instructions out at a rate that looks smooth? I'm not looking for crazy high precision here, just enough that the LEDs bounce along to the music at a rate that looks fine to the human eye/ear. If the music hits a crazy high note and the LEDs lag noticeably, that's not okay, but anything better than that is good enough for me.

- I've seen some chips like the MSI8GEQ7 (https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/d/4/6/0/c/MSGEQ7.pdf) that splits audio into 7 bands, but I'd like more than that. Can anyone recommend a better chip, or a way to make/program my own? It feels unrealistic to expect 1 band per LED strip, so I'm okay having a real, measurable band every X strips along the matrix and averaging the results of 2 bands to get values for the strips between each measured band.

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Anything else I'm missing here? I'm in a "I don't know enough to know what to ask" valley on my project, so please bring up anything else y'all foresee. Thank you all in advance!