- Would you prefer the Audio Lab sold as a kit, or pre-assembled?
- What resolution (bits) and sampling rate would be needed?
- What format(s) for storing audio files should it support?
- What type(s) of microphone would people most like to use?
- What would be a fair price for this shield (specify kit or assembled)?
- pre-assembled
- for serious use, e.g as a sampler for music, 24/96 is usual and 24/44.1 or 16/44.1 is the minimum. For applications where audio quality is not a concern, maybe 12/22.05? Either way you would need a separate ADC, perhaps oone of the I2C ones. The built-in Arduino ADC is not going to cut it, at 10 bits and pretty slow sampling, for audio applications.
- Wav, for simplicity and lossless sampling. Mp3, AAC, FLAC or OggVorbis add significant complexity (and MP3 or AAC add cost in terms of licensing fees)
- If you go for the higher quality ADC options, then dynamic microphones should be supported with a balanced input and a low-noise mic preamp. (This would also support ribbon mics if your mic pre is quiet enough and has sufficient gain). Adding +48V phantom power to support condenser mics seems awkward on a shield (but leasving it off cuts out the studio musician crowd). An alternative would be to go for a balanced line input, as well or as an alternative to the mic in. People with good mics can use an external pre.
- Depends very much on the quality and features provided.