Serial Studio Audio Pipeline Validator

Overview

This project provides a utility to convert audio data recorded via Serial Studio’s Audio I/O driver into playable WAV files. It’s designed for developers testing Serial Studio’s data pipeline integrity using audio signals, such as voice, tones, or music. If the reconstructed .wav file sounds like the original, the I/O pipeline is functioning as expected.

This tool requires no additional hardware. Just Serial Studio, a microphone or audio source, and this Python script.

Note: Serial Studio’s audio features may require a paid license. Visit serial-studio.com for more details.

Audio Format

Serial Studio logs audio samples to CSV using the following structure:

RX Date/Time,Audio Input/Channel 1,Audio Input/Channel 2,...
2025/08/02 23:43:57::950,0.000000,0.002541,...

• First column: Timestamp (ignored by this tool)
• Remaining columns: Audio samples for each channel (float, typically normalized)
• Channel count: Mono, stereo, surround, etc., depending on how many channels are logged

Project Features

• Converts any Serial Studio-generated CSV into a valid .wav file
• Supports mono, stereo, and multichannel audio
• CLI options for:
  • Output sample rate (default: 44,100 Hz)
  • Sample format (float32, int16, int24, int32, uint8)
• Automatically normalizes audio if needed
• Helps debug Serial Studio pipelines by listening to the reconstructed audio

How to Use

1. Record Audio in Serial Studio

• Set the input source to an Audio I/O device
• Configure the number of channels (1 = mono, 2 = stereo, etc.)
• Enable data logging to a .csv file
• Speak, play music, or record any sound

2. Convert CSV to WAV

python3 csv2wav.py path/to/audio.csv

Optional: specify output path, custom sample rate, and format

python3 csv2wav.py path/to/audio.csv output.wav --rate 48000 --format int16

3. Listen to the Result

• Open the generated WAV file in any media player
• Compare it to your original source (mic recording, test tone, etc.)
• A clean, accurate playback indicates the data path is working end to end

Supported Sample Formats

Default format is float32. For playback compatibility, int16 is usually a safe bet.

Example Use Case

As a developer or tester:

• You inject an audio signal into Serial Studio using a virtual mic or file playback
• Serial Studio logs the raw data into a CSV file
• You run csv2wav.py to convert it back into a WAV
• You listen to verify whether the WAV matches the original audio

✅ If it sounds correct → pipeline works

❌ If it's clipped, noisy, or silent → investigate device config, sample rate, or formatting issues

Files Included

• csv2wav.py: The core CSV to WAV conversion script
• README.md: Project documentation and usage guide

Dependencies

• Python 3.x
• numpy (install via pip)

pip install numpy

Command Line Usage

python3 csv2wav.py input.csv [output.wav] [--rate <hz>] [--in_format <type>]

• input.csv: CSV file exported from Serial Studio
• output.wav: Optional name for output WAV file
• --rate: Optional sample rate in Hz (default: 44100)
• --in_format: Input format (float32, int16, int24, int32, uint8)

[!TIP]
For advanced resampling, route audio through a virtual loopback device and set the target frequency with Serial Studio. Then run csv2wav.py to export at the new frequency. This trick often delivers some of the cleanest downsampling results you'll hear, perfect for a slowed & reverb style mixes.

Troubleshooting

• WAV plays silence: Check if your CSV has actual audio values or just zeros
• Distortion: Input values may exceed [-1, 1]. Use proper normalization or rescaling
• Wrong channel order: Ensure your audio source is correctly mapped in Serial Studio