Howler
Howler is an audio library for the modern web. It handles loading audio files, playing them with Web Audio and HTML5 Audio, and includes various sound sprites, filters, spatialization, and other features to make working with audio easier.
web-audio
html5-audio
sound-sprites
filters
spatialization
Howler: Modern Web Audio Library
Howler is an audio library for the modern web. It handles loading audio files, playing them with Web Audio and HTML5 Audio, and includes various sound sprites, filters, spatialization, and other features to make working with audio easier.
What is Howler?
Howler is an open-source JavaScript audio library designed to make working with audio in web applications easier and more consistent across browsers. Some key features of Howler include:
- Handles loading and decoding audio files like MP3, OGG, WAV, M4A, etc.
- Abstracts away browser differences in HTML5 Audio and Web Audio APIs to provide a consistent interface
- Automatic HTML5 Audio fallback from Web Audio for broader browser support
- Support for audio sprites - combining multiple audio files into single sound effects
- Spatialization for positional audio and panning
- Various audio effects like reverb, distortion, stereo widening, etc.
- Timeouts and durations to schedule sounds precisely
- Volume control and muting without HTML5 clipping issues
- Seamless loops and gapless audio
Howler aims to solve common problems like inconsistent implementations and unintuitive interfaces when working with audio in the browser. It simplifies playback, effects, spatialization and more so developers can focus on creating engaging audio experiences rather than complex audio logic.
Howler Features
Features
- WebAudio API integration
- HTML5 Audio fallback
- Sound sprite support
- Spatialization
- Filters
- Panning
- Equalizer
- Looping
- Fading
- Rate control
- WebAudio compression
- WebAudio panning
- WebAudio stereo
- WebAudio 3D audio
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Lightweight and easy to use
Good cross-browser support
Active development and maintenance
Good documentation
Open source and free
Cons
Less flexible than lower level WebAudio libraries
No graphical UI
Limited community and support compared to more popular libraries
Official Links
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