Just to add some more recent feedback on this issue. I’ve been using SoundPool for some time in an app with a fairly large user base for key press sounds. Our use case:
- Must be played immediately
- Up to 3+ sounds in parallel
- We make use of the
setRateacross it’s full range[0.5f-2.0f]
I’ve now experienced two major device specific issue and have decided to cut my losses and switch away from SoundPool
- A large number of 4.4 LG devices (mostly the LG G2/G3 line) were having a native crash with their implementation of SoundPool. This was fixed in an update (eventually) but we still have a lot of users with un-upgraded devices
- Sony Xperia devices currently have all sorts of issue with SoundPool as reported by others. In my case, I’ve discovered that if you use
setRatewithrate > 1.0fthe SoundPool with start throwing exceptions until your app quits (and burn through a bunch of battery in the process).
TL;DR; I no longer think it’s worth the danger/hassle of debugging SoundPool