Soundboard - Using TheAmazingAudioEngine to play app sound effects

Soundboard.h

//
//  Soundboard.h
//
//
//  Created by Ryan McLeod on 8/19/15.
//
//

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>

static NSString *const SFX_Sound1      = @"sound1.aif";
static NSString *const SFX_Sound2      = @"sound2.wav";

@interface Soundboard : NSObject

+ (Soundboard*) sharedInstance;
+ (void) play:(NSString *)soundName;

@end

Soundboard.m

//
//  Soundboard.m
//
//
//  Created by Ryan McLeod on 8/19/15.
//
//

#import "Soundboard.h"

@interface Soundboard ()

@property NSDictionary *sounds;

@end

@implementation Soundboard

static Soundboard *sharedInstance = nil;

- (instancetype) init {
    self = [super init];
    if (self) {
        
        // Build all necessary AEAudioFilePlayers
        NSMutableDictionary *sounds = [NSMutableDictionary new];
        NSArray *filenames = @[SFX_Sound1,
                               SFX_Sound2];
        for (NSString *filename in filenames) {
            [sounds setObject:[Soundboard playerForSoundInSoundsBundle:filename] forKey:filename];
        }
        self.sounds = sounds;
        
        // Get the audio controller
        AEAudioController *audioController = ((AppDelegate*)[[UIApplication sharedApplication] delegate]).audioController;
        NSAssert(audioController, @"AEAudioController not found in AppDelegate");
        
        // Setup a sound effects channel group and add all our sounds to it
        AEChannelGroupRef sfxChannel = [audioController createChannelGroup];
        [audioController addChannels:[self.sounds allValues] toChannelGroup:sfxChannel];

    }
    return self;
}

+ (instancetype) sharedInstance {
    static dispatch_once_t onceToken;
    dispatch_once(&onceToken, ^{
        sharedInstance = [[Soundboard alloc] init];
    });

    return sharedInstance;
}

+ (void) play:(NSString *)soundName {
    
    AEAudioFilePlayer *sound = [[Soundboard sharedInstance].sounds objectForKey:soundName];
    if (sound) {
        sound.currentTime = 0;
        sound.channelIsPlaying = YES;
    }
}

+ (AEAudioFilePlayer*) playerForSoundInSoundsBundle:(NSString*)filename {
    return [Soundboard playerForSoundInBundle:@"Sounds" filename:filename];
}

+ (AEAudioFilePlayer*) playerForSoundInBundle:(NSString*)bundleName filename:(NSString*)filename {
    NSBundle *bundle = [NSBundle bundleWithPath:[[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:bundleName ofType:@"bundle"]];
    NSURL *url = [bundle URLForResource:[filename stringByDeletingPathExtension] withExtension:[filename pathExtension]];
    AEAudioFilePlayer *sound = [AEAudioFilePlayer audioFilePlayerWithURL:url error:nil];
    
    sound.loop = NO;
    sound.channelIsPlaying = NO;
    
    return sound;
}

@end

It should be noted that TAAE has to be started-up before playing sounds!

I keep a shared instance in my AppDelegate and initialize it in application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: like so:

AudioStreamBasicDescription streamFormat = [AEAudioController nonInterleaved16BitStereoAudioDescription];
self.audioController = [[AEAudioController alloc] initWithAudioDescription:streamFormat inputEnabled:YES useVoiceProcessing:NO outputEnabled:YES];
// Using ambient will respect the user's silence switch
[self.audioController setAudioSessionCategory:AVAudioSessionCategoryAmbient];

Referencing the soundboard's sharedInstance ([Soundboard sharedInstance]) here would probably be a good idea to avoid any initial delay when the first sound is played and it is forced to build all of its audio players.

Note: the convenience method playerForSoundInSoundsBundle: assumes your sounds are stored in a bundle called Sounds.bundle in your app's root directory!