AudioSource

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Object → Component → Behaviour → unityengine.AudioSource (extern class)

Component that plays AudioClips in 3D or 2D space. The primary way to play sounds in Unity, supporting spatial audio, effects, and mixer routing.

In Ceramic's Unity backend, AudioSources are pooled and managed to efficiently play sounds through the audio bus system.

Key features:

  • 3D spatial audio with distance attenuation
  • Pitch and volume control
  • Looping and time control
  • Integration with AudioMixer for effects
  • Doppler effect simulation
See: AudioClip, AudioMixer, AudioMixerGroup

Instance Members

unity
bypassEffects: Bool

Bypasses all effects applied by the AudioMixerGroup. When true, audio plays without any mixer effects (reverb, etc.). Useful for UI sounds or when effects cause issues.

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bypassListenerEffects: Bool

Bypasses effects applied to the AudioListener. When true, ignores global effects on the listener.

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bypassReverbZones: Bool

Bypasses reverb zones in the scene. When true, this source ignores any reverb zone effects. Useful for UI or non-diegetic sounds.

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clip: AudioClip

The AudioClip to play. Set this before calling Play() or enable playOnAwake. Can be changed during playback for crossfading effects.

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dopplerLevel: Single

Doppler effect intensity (0-5). 0 = No doppler effect 1 = Realistic doppler

1 = Exaggerated effect

Simulates pitch changes from relative motion.

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ignoreListenerPause: Bool

Whether this source continues playing when AudioListener.pause is true. Useful for menu sounds that should play during game pause.

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ignoreListenerVolume: Bool

Whether this source ignores AudioListener.volume. When true, only this source's volume property affects loudness.

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isPlaying: Bool

Whether the AudioSource is currently playing. Read-only. Check this to determine playback state.

Returns false when paused, stopped, or finished.

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isVirtual: Bool

Whether Unity has virtualized this AudioSource. Virtual sources are too quiet/far to hear but continue updating position for when they become audible again.

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loop: Bool

Whether the sound repeats after finishing. When true, playback restarts from beginning after reaching end. Essential for background music and ambient sounds.

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maxDistance: Single

Maximum distance for 3D sound attenuation. Beyond this distance, volume remains at minimum. Works with minDistance to define falloff curve.

Default: 500.0

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minDistance: Single

Distance at which 3D sound begins attenuating. Within this distance, sound plays at full volume.

Default: 1.0

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mute: Bool

Mutes the AudioSource. When true, no sound is produced but playback continues. Different from volume=0 as it completely bypasses audio processing.

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panStereo: Single

Stereo pan position (-1 to 1). -1 = Full left 0 = Center 1 = Full right

Only affects 2D sounds (spatialBlend = 0).

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pitch: Single

Pitch multiplier (0.1 to 3.0). 1.0 = Normal pitch 0.5 = One octave lower 2.0 = One octave higher

Note: Extreme values may cause artifacts.

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playOnAwake: Bool

Whether to start playing immediately when enabled. If true and clip is set, playback begins automatically. Useful for ambient sounds in scenes.

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priority: Int

Priority for voice management (0-256). 0 = Highest priority (never virtualized) 256 = Lowest priority (first to be virtualized)

Unity virtualizes lower priority sounds when too many play.

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reverbZoneMix: Single

Amount of reverb zone effect applied (0-1.1). 0 = No reverb 1 = Full reverb

1 = Amplified reverb

Requires reverb zones in scene.

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spatialize: Bool

Enables 3D spatialization plugins. When true, compatible spatial audio plugins can process this source for binaural or ambisonic output.

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time: Single

Current playback position in seconds. Can be set to seek to specific time. Clamped between 0 and clip.length.

Use for scrubbing or syncing multiple sources.

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timeSamples: Int

Current playback position in PCM samples. More precise than time for sample-accurate sync. Range: 0 to (clip.samples - 1)

Useful for beat-matching or precise loops.

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volume: Single

Volume/amplitude multiplier (0-1). 0 = Silent 1 = Full volume

Applied before mixer group processing. Use logarithmic scaling for perceptual linearity.

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outputAudioMixerGroup: AudioMixerGroup

Routes audio output to specific mixer group. If null, outputs to master mixer.

Use this to apply group effects and manage multiple sounds together (e.g., all SFX).

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Pause(): Void

Pauses playback, maintaining current position. Call UnPause() to resume from same position. Unlike Stop(), doesn't reset playback position.

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Play(): Void

Starts playing the assigned AudioClip. If already playing, restarts from beginning. Requires clip to be assigned.

Basic playback:

source.clip = myClip;
source.volume = 0.8;
source.Play();
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PlayDelayed(delay: Single): Void

Schedules playback to start after a delay. Useful for timing sounds with animations or music.

Name Type Description
delay Single Seconds to wait before playing (must be positive) * Note: Uses audio DSP time for sample-accurate scheduling.
unity
Stop(): Void

Stops playback and resets position to beginning. If Play() is called after Stop(), playback starts from 0. Use Pause() instead to maintain position.

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UnPause(): Void

Resumes playback after Pause(). Continues from the position where Pause() was called. Has no effect if not currently paused.

Metadata

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