---
product_id: 439748022
title: "MP3 Player Shield- MP3 decoder- Turn Any Compatible with Arduino Board into a Fully Functional MP3 Player- 3.5mm Audio Out Jack- 0.1\" Spaced Header for Speaker Out- microSD Card Slot"
brand: "sparkfun"
price: "€ 73.93"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 4
url: https://www.desertcart.com.cy/products/439748022-mp3-player-shield-mp3-decoder-turn-any-compatible-with-arduino
store_origin: CY
region: Cyprus
---

# 3.5mm Audio Out Jack VS1053B Codec supports MP3, AAC, WMA & more microSD Card Slot for unlimited tunes MP3 Player Shield- MP3 decoder- Turn Any Compatible with Arduino Board into a Fully Functional MP3 Player- 3.5mm Audio Out Jack- 0.1" Spaced Header for Speaker Out- microSD Card Slot

**Brand:** sparkfun
**Price:** € 73.93
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎶 Elevate your DIY game—because your project deserves a soundtrack!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** MP3 Player Shield- MP3 decoder- Turn Any Compatible with Arduino Board into a Fully Functional MP3 Player- 3.5mm Audio Out Jack- 0.1" Spaced Header for Speaker Out- microSD Card Slot by sparkfun
- **How much does it cost?** € 73.93 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.com.cy](https://www.desertcart.com.cy/products/439748022-mp3-player-shield-mp3-decoder-turn-any-compatible-with-arduino)

## Best For

- sparkfun enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted sparkfun brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Key Features

- • **Seamless Storage Expansion:** microSD slot lets you carry your entire playlist on the go.
- • **Compact & Lightweight Design:** Sleek 3.35" x 3.35" shield weighing just 0.3 oz fits effortlessly into your builds.
- • **Plug & Play Audio Powerhouse:** Transform any Arduino into a pro-grade MP3 player with ease.
- • **Flexible Hardware Integration:** Retain multiple pins for other components—perfect for complex projects.
- • **Universal Audio Compatibility:** Decode MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and MIDI for ultimate sound versatility.

## Overview

The SparkFun MP3 Player Shield is a compact, Arduino-compatible audio module featuring a 3.5mm audio out jack, microSD card slot, and the versatile VS1053B audio codec chip. It supports multiple audio formats including MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, and MIDI, enabling seamless integration of high-quality sound effects or music into your projects. Designed with flexible pin availability and a lightweight form factor, it’s ideal for makers aiming to add professional-grade audio to their creations.

## Description

The SparkFun MP3 Player Shield is an awesome MP3 decoder with the capabilities of storing music files onto a run-of-the-mill microSD card, thus giving you the ability to add music or sound effects to any project. With this board you can pull MP3 files from an microSD card and play them using only one shield, effectively turning any compatible with Arduino board into a fully functional stand-alone MP3 player! The MP3 Shield utilizes the VS1053B MP3 audio decoder IC to decode audio files. The VS1053 is also capable of decoding Ogg Vorbis/MP3/AAC/WMA/MIDI audio and encoding IMA ADPCM and user-loadable Ogg Vorbis.The VS1053 receives its input bitstream through a serial input bus (SPI). After the stream has been decoded by the IC, the audio is sent out to both a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, as well as a 2-pin 0.1" pitch header.The centerpiece of the MP3 Player Shield is a VS1053B Audio Codec IC. The VS1053B is a multi talented little chip. On top of MP3's, it can also decode Ogg Vorbis, AAC, WMA, and MIDI. (It's also capable of encoding audio, although that's outside the scope of the MP3 Shield.)Supporting the VS1053B is a µSD card socket, which you can use to store MP3 files on. Using the compatible with Arduino SD library, it's simple to read music files off an SD card, and stream them to the VS1053B. There's additional circuitry on-board to level shift signals down to the 3.3V maximum allowable by SD cards.This shield comes populated with all components as shown in the images and schematic; but it does not come with headers installed. We recommend the R3 Stackable Header Kit.

## Features

- Are you looking to add some grooves to your project. Does your haunted house or Halloween costume need some sound effects embedded into it?
- Do you just want to be able to say you built your own MP3 player? The MP3 Player Shield is an easy way to add music or sound effects to your project.
- Features: 3.5mm audio out jack, 0.1" spaced header for speaker out, microSD card slot. The shield does use up quite a few pins, but here are the pins still available to connect to other components. The hardware UART pins -- RX and TX -- on pins 0 and 1, D5 and D10 (PWM pins!), All analog pins (A0 through A5).
- The centerpiece of the MP3 Player Shield is a VS1053B Audio Codec IC. The VS1053B is a multi talented little chip. On top of MP3's, it can also decode Ogg Vorbis, AAC, WMA, and MIDI.
- If you're not sure which version you've got, there's a version number on the bottom copper layer, underneath the headphone jack, as shown below. Note: Headers not included.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Standing screen display size | 0.1 Inches |
| RAM | LPDDR3 |
| Brand | SparkFun |
| Series | mp3 |
| Operating System | FreeRTOS |
| Item Weight | 0.317 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.35 x 3.35 x 0.28 inches |
| Item Dimensions  LxWxH | 3.35 x 3.35 x 0.28 inches |
| Color | Red |
| Number of Processors | 1 |
| Manufacturer | SparkFun Electronics |
| ASIN | B09NJQBG99 |
| Country of Origin | USA |
| Date First Available | December 29, 2021 |

## Product Details

- **Brand:** SparkFun
- **Model Name:** mp3
- **Memory Storage Capacity:** 4 GB
- **Connectivity Technology:** Aux
- **Operating System:** FreeRTOS

## Images

![MP3 Player Shield- MP3 decoder- Turn Any Compatible with Arduino Board into a Fully Functional MP3 Player- 3.5mm Audio Out Jack- 0.1" Spaced Header for Speaker Out- microSD Card Slot - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61nkv8iUrcL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐ So, so
*by D***N on August 21, 2023*

Sample code does not work very well. Set up music files per the sample but performance was spotty at best.

### ⭐ Incredibly buggy hardware that locks up constantly
*by D***D on February 10, 2025*

I've been trying to get this board to work reliably for a week now, and at this point, I'm giving up. Its ability to resync with MP3 data seems to be very poor, and results in locking up with the interrupt line high, which means the Arduino wedges at that point. I've seen it with two different Arduino boards.So I thought maybe I could use WAV files. Nope. Even with the data being played back off of the onboard flash (PROGMEM), I get distorted audio played slowly and at a lower pitch, with massive distortion, indicating a buffer overrun. And although the Arduino Uno R4 can use faster SPI bus speeds, it doesn't respond above about 20 MHz, and it isn't usable at 20 MHz.Some of this may be the libraries I'm using (I'm working with Adafruit's library, because I don't do GPL v3), but the ease with which I could make this thing lock up is downright horrifying.The best part was that I actually managed to make it lock up just feeding WAV data. In that mode, I was literally doing nothing more than starting and stopping the flow of bytes of uncompressed data.So either I got a dud board or this chipset is simply the worst, buggiest piece of hardware I've ever had the displeasure of working which. I don't know which, but I've read enough comments from others having trouble with this chipset to suspect that it is the latter. I'm giving up. It really should not be this hard to trigger playback of audio clips without half a second of latency, or make them jump back to the beginning while they're still playing, or any of the other things that just don't work well with this chip.

### ⭐⭐ Hard to set up/configure
*by J***R on September 11, 2023*

I had a really difficult time getting this board to work. I was able to solder the headers I needed just fine but the software available on the Sparkfun website is not user friendly, and there is little documentation on how to get started with the device compared to other products they sell.

## Frequently Bought Together

- SparkFun MP3 Player Shield- MP3 decoder- Turn Any Compatible with Arduino Board into a Fully Functional MP3 Player- 3.5mm Audio Out Jack- 0.1" Spaced Header for Speaker Out- microSD Card Slot
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*Product available on Desertcart Cyprus*
*Store origin: CY*
*Last updated: 2026-03-26*