Best settings for Audio + play() latency

Let's be clear:

1) There is "acceptable" latency of the order of half a sec or so ( often less ), which according to the post by Holgate, #7 above, is an issue with -- some versions of ( ? ) -- Android ( not Air specifically ).

2) Then, there is unacceptable delay, which appears to be specific to Air on some Android devices ( particularly Nook Color and Kindle Fire ), where a sound will sometimes play in near sync ( with "normal" Android latency ), and sometimes with a delay of SEVERAL SECONDS ( like 5 or 10, in one of my apps! ), which apparently has something to do with garbage collection ( Holgate post #14, above ).

I can confirm that the unacceptable delay has NOT been fixed as of Air 3.6, testing on Nook Color and Kindle Fire, though it is fine ( no delay ) on the Nexus One.

As pointed out in another forum, playing all your sounds in a silent loop, will prevent sounds from being garbage collected, and will eliminate the delay issue whenever you play a sound, like so:

private function initSounds():void

{

     var silentSndXF:SoundTransform = new SoundTransform( 0 );

     _sound01.play( 0, int.MAX_VALUE, silentSndXF );

     _sound02.play( 0, int.MAX_VALUE, silentSndXF );

     _sound03.play( 0, int.MAX_VALUE, silentSndXF );

     // Note: int.MAX_VALUE is about 2 billion, so even a very short "click" sound of 1/20

     // of a sec would play for 3 years or so -- if the app was never closed !!

}

private function onButtonClick( evt:MouseEvent ):void

{

     _sound01.play();

}

This hack eliminated the severe delay I was getting on Nook Color and Kindle Fire ( several seconds for some sounds, in some situations ), leaving me with the "regular", acceptable Android latency.

Count us in. We're seeing pretty bad sound latency on Nook and Kindle Fire too.

Just to put in a current two cents: this is happening still. Hope someone addresses it as it makes any sort of game - or for that matter any UI - pretty amateurish looking/sounding. I am using Flash CS5.5 and Air for Android and running the app on a Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Air 2.7.1.1961. I see terible delays in sound effects playing. Like more than 1/4 second delay on a sound effect tied to a button press. And even worse on the in game FX.

Any word on a possible fix any time soon?

yes i also hope adobe can come up with a fix, I also was thinking we might be able to create a work around when air apps get the ability to call native code...which i think might be out later this year.

Yes issues is still the same.

Motorola DroidX

I do attachments in the packager for iphone for external mp3 and use sound class within my main fla. Not faced any issues on delay.

Have mp3 as an external file with the minimum of 64kbps