Aural

Audio playback library for .NET — Play audio files with a single line of code using cross-platform OpenAL support.

Aural is on NuGet

Features

• Simple API: Play any audio file with Player.Play(path, volume, loop)
• Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux automatically
• Format support: WAV, OGG Vorbis, MP3
• Playback control: Pause, resume, stop, volume adjustment, seeking
• Zero setup: No initialization required—just start playing
• Intuitive tokens: Control-based API via PlaybackToken objects
• Real-time filters: Low-pass, high-pass, reverb, and pitch shift (opt-in for zero overhead)
• OpenAL backend: Built on OpenTK.Audio.OpenAL for reliable, cross-platform audio

Installation

dotnet add package Aural

Quick Start

using Aural;

// Play an audio file
var token = Player.Play("path/to/song.mp3", 0.7f, loop: true);

// Let it play for 10 seconds
Thread.Sleep(10000);

// Pause playback
token.Pause();
Thread.Sleep(10000);

// Resume playback
token.Play();
Thread.Sleep(10000);

// Stop and release resources
token.End();

// Optional: cleanup all active playbacks on shutdown
Player.Dispose();

Audio Effects

Apply real-time filters to audio playback. All filters are disabled by default (zero performance cost). Enable only the filters you need.

Supported Filters

• Low-Pass: Removes high frequencies (~0.5ms overhead)

  • Parameters: Frequency (20-20000 Hz), Resonance (0.5-5.0 Q)
  • Use case: Warm tone, remove noise

• High-Pass: Removes low frequencies (~0.5ms overhead)

  • Parameters: Frequency (20-2000 Hz), Resonance (0.5-5.0 Q)
  • Use case: Remove rumble, sub-bass

• Reverb: Schroeder reverberator for room ambience (~3-5ms overhead)

  • Parameters: RoomSize (0.0-1.0), DampFactor (0.0-1.0), Wet (0.0-1.0), Dry (0.0-1.0)
  • Use case: Space, ambience

• Pitch Shift: STFT phase vocoder for transposition (~10-15ms overhead, 50-200ms latency)

  • Parameters: SemiTones (-12 to +12), WindowSize (512, 1024, 2048)
  • Use case: Transpose music, karaoke, tuning adjustment

Filter Example

using Aural;
using Aural.Filters;

// Create audio effect with filters
var effect = new AudioEffect
{
    LowPass = new LowPassFilter
    {
        Enabled = true,
        Frequency = 8000f,    // Remove frequencies above 8kHz
        Resonance = 1.0f
    },
    Reverb = new ReverbFilter
    {
        Enabled = true,
        RoomSize = 0.7f,       // Larger room
        DampFactor = 0.5f,     // Dampen high frequencies
        Wet = 0.3f,            // 30% reverb mix
        Dry = 0.7f             // 70% original signal
    }
};

// Apply effects during playback
var token = Player.Play("song.mp3", volume: 0.8f, effect: effect);

// Query which filters are active
var activeEffects = token.GetActiveFilters();
Console.WriteLine($"Low-Pass: {activeEffects.LowPass.Enabled}");
Console.WriteLine($"Reverb: {activeEffects.Reverb.Enabled}");

Thread.Sleep(5000);
token.End();

Important Notes

• Immutability: The effect object is deep-cloned when playback starts. Modifications after Play() have no effect.
• Opt-In: Filters are disabled by default. Enable only what you need.
• Pitch Shift Latency: Expect 50-200ms latency with pitch shift enabled. Use smaller WindowSize for lower latency, larger for better quality.
• Cross-Platform: All filters work identically on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

API Reference

Player.Play(filePath, volume, loop, effect)

Plays an audio file and returns a PlaybackToken for control.

Parameters:

• filePath (string): Path to audio file (WAV, MP3, OGG)
• volume (float, default: 1.0): Volume level 0.0 (silent) to 1.0 (full)
• loop (bool, default: false): Whether to loop the audio
• effect (AudioEffect?, default: null): Optional audio effects/filters to apply

Returns: PlaybackToken? - Control token, or null if playback failed

PlaybackToken Methods

• Pause() - Pause playback
• Play() - Resume playback
• End() - Stop and release resources
• SetVolume(float) - Adjust volume (0.0-1.0)
• Seek(float) - Seek to position in seconds
• GetActiveFilters() - Get reconstructed AudioEffect showing which filters are active
• IsPlaying (property) - Check if audio is playing
• CurrentPosition (property) - Get current playback position in seconds
• Duration (property) - Get total audio duration in seconds

Player.Dispose()

Disposes all active playback sessions. Call on application shutdown.

Supported Formats

• WAV (.wav)
• OGG (.ogg)
• MPEG (.mp3)

Platform Support

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

License

MIT