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MP3 Decoder Options
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Kasper:
Hello,
I am looking for an MP3 decoder for an MP3 player I hope to put on Kickstarter or similar.

Last year I had a working prototype using VS1053B. But then I got busy with other projects and got married so it got shelved with all my other proofs of concepts. I am hoping to get back into it soon.

I chose VS1053B because it was used by Sparkfun and Adafruit and sounded like it had pretty good quality output.  Now that I have VS1053B working, I think I should move forward with that.

I want it to be solid, simple and affordable with good quality sound not over engineered, over spec'd, and over priced.

Does anyone recommend any other MP3 decoders I should consider?



amyk:
Those are way overpriced, costing even more than a general-purpose MCU you can run an MP3 decoder on (and now that the patents have expired, you don't even have to worry about that --- if you were going to.) Look at what's in the various Chinese MP3 players...
tsman:
The only other dedicated MP3 codec chip I know of is the ST STA013 but it isn't cheap either. Do what amyk said with a microcontroller.
Kasper:
Thank you for the replies. I guess I'm shopping for MCUs and DACs when I get home from my hike :)

What are the min requirements of an MCU to read MP3 off microSD card, decode then send to DAC?

I'm guessing I'll want a separate DAC but I'll have a look for MCUs with DACs >= 16 bit first.
Kasper:
Looks like MCUs with DAC >= 16 bit aren't too common.  And audio DACs are spread into multiple categories on DK.

DK categories with audio DACs:
Data Acquisition - ADCs/DACs - Special Purpose
Data Acquisition - Digital to Analog Converters (DAC)
Interface - CODECs
Linear - Amplifiers - Audio

The TI series TLV320DAC is my favorite so far but if I have to get a separate DAC, I mind as well stick with VS1053B for my DAC and decoder.

Price for VS1053B-L is high at low quantities but it drops quickly ($10usd at qty 100).  Still a little pricey but it seems much cheaper than R&D for a new MCU and DAC.

On a side note, some places call it VS1053B and others call it VS1053B-L.  Seems to be the same part and some people just drop the "L".



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