Slow start for AVAudioPlayer the first time a sound is played

Question

I\'m trying to eliminate startup lag when playing a (very short -- less than 2 seconds) audio file via AVAudioPlayer on the iPhone.

First, the code:

Answer 1

Here's a simple Swift extension to AVAudioPlayer that uses the play-and-stop at 0 volume idea presented in previous answers. PrepareToPlay() unfortunately at least for me did not do the trick.

extension AVAudioPlayer {
    private func initDelaylessPlayback() {
        volume = 0
        play()
        stop()
        volume = 1
    }

    convenience init(contentsOfWithoutDelay : URL) throws {
        try self.init(contentsOf: contentsOfWithoutDelay, fileTypeHint: nil)
        initDelaylessPlayback()
    }
}