I am working with Arduino which activates a box which is similar to a Skinner Box. Some of the output sound stimuli are sine waves with duration of less then 5 milliseconds. I output the sounds using the MP3 module DFR0299.
However there are too much problems using this module: it seems like the module has a wakening delay of around 100 ms, so it is not working well with this duration and below (the response time of the module is important).
So, I was thinking of buying a better module. However, I am far from being an expert in these things..
I can look for other modules in the internet, but, just from looking at the datasheets, I cant tell if the quality of the module is what I need.
I would be grateful if any of you could give me names of modules that might feet my requirements (or even advice me at what to look in the datasheets)
All mp3 modules will have a startup delay, mp3 is a highly compressed format which has to be heavily
preprocessed in chunks before any output samples are available. The hardware in a small cheap module will have been selected to be just fast enough to decode mp3 at all, whereas a good domestic mp3 player such as an iPod will have way more fire-power (which costs more) - small cheap modules will seem much more sluggish in comparison.
For short samples and cheap modules you don't want compression, just raw sample formats such as WAV.
I am using the Adafruit Audio Shield in a project here. I haven't had a reason to measure the latency, but I do like the sound. (It only plays .wav files.)
In my project, the shield is on an Arduino Uno and my project rapidly ran out of memory, so I moved the main processing duties to a Wemos D1 Mini and when I want to play a file, I send the filename to the shield on the Uno via I2C. The shield uses a 2GB SD card. I have more than 100 sound files on it, and room for hundreds more.