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

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.