Hi, I'm a self-taught dev/programmer (back-end/app/VST, c, c++, audio and basic electronica) and I want to get into embedded. The way it works best for me is to do a type of project I'm familiar with and just learn the rest along the way.
So I'm looking for a development board. I've been doing research for months now but the options are just to overwhelming. So I want to ask this community if you could help me find something, point me in the right direction.
I'll try to describe the kind of project and (technical) preferences as best as I can;
I want to use the board to prototype different kinds of musical devices, like a simple synth, audio player, etc .. try out some concepts to learn. I'm not going to focus on heavy synthesis or audio processing so I won't need a powerful DSP option. If it's there, great but .. What I want to focus on is project integration. Communicate with external devices like a DAC, attaching a touch screen, learn about SPI, multiplex input/output. And create a simple GUI.
1) I prefer ARM based, from my research I found Cortex M7 or M4 most interesting.
2) Bare-metal MCU. Thought long about this and picked bare-metal over a Linux (not an expert) based solution, since I prefer to spend my precious time learning about pure embedded coding, like writing a simple OS, scheduler, etc .. than figuring out Linux and all it's quirks. I could be wrong, suggestions are welcome.
3) Not Arduino or Raspberry Pi, I own these boards, they are great but they are not what I'm looking for. I want something I can access on a lower level and is closer to industry standard so what I learn can be directly implemented in a real product.
4) plenty of GPIO, SPI (need this), a way to connect a touch screen.
5) An important part will be designing a GUI, simple and elegant; background image, simple drawing from simple GUI elements to an audio waveform, etc..no 3D or video. So I think I don't need a board with a GPU or a smart screen with its own processor ?
6) solid solution, something with a stable tool chain, and IDE.
7) has good support, plenty of learning resources and a good user base/community/forum.
ideal would be 50-150 euros, 200 euros max. With an onboard LCD or possibility to connect one (and still have plenty of IO left for other things)
The boards that I found most interesting are the STM32F7 discovery series, or Nuclio. But I'd love to hear what you guys think.
I know this is a lot
I just wanted to give as much information as possible about what I'm looking for.
Any help would be really appreciated, thank you !