BONAUDIO: AN OPEN-SOURCE SOLUTION FOR FLEXIBLE, LOW LATENCY AUDIO STIMULATION

[Aims] Every year, visual neuroscience produces roughly five times as many publications than audition, despite disabling hearing loss prevalence far exceeding vision impairments. On reason for this disparity is that controlling auditory stimuli is challenging. This includes choosing the correct speakers, properly calibrating their frequency responses, and presenting precisely timed stimuli. Here, we present a powerful open-source software package, hardware delivery system, and calibration routines to simplify the implementation of auditory experiments.
[Methods] We designed an affordable, open-source soundcard with integrated amplifiers, capable of driving 32 speakers at 48kHz. This combines with an open-source software package for Bonsai-rx to allow for simultaneous, low latency sound presentation across all speakers. In addition, we present a robust routine for in situ calibration of large spatially distributed speaker arrays.
[Results] We tested our hardware-software package in a variety of implementations. We successfully generated and delivered low latency (~20ms) auditory stimuli, compatible with closed-loop experiments. This is comparable with the fastest visual experimental setups. The software is compatible with generic soundcards, which are sufficient for many experiments. However, studies of spatial audition use many speakers. Our custom soundcard is exceptionally well-suited to multi-speaker experiments. New developments will extend this range up to 192kHz with 20 speakers—ideal for model systems with ultrasonic hearing, like the mouse.
[Conclusion] We present a hardware-software package for auditory stimulus delivery. This fully open-source and affordable solution promises to enable a wider variety of auditory studies, while simplifying experimental setups.