Unity Game Optimization - Third Edition

Minimizing active audio source count

Since each actively playing audio source consumes a particular amount of CPU, it stands to reason that we can save CPU cycles by disabling redundant audio sources in our scene. One approach is to limit how many instances of an audio clip can be played simultaneously. This involves sending audio playback requests through an intermediary that controls our audio sources in such a way that it puts a hard cap on how many instances of an audio clip can be played simultaneously.

Almost every audio management asset available in the Unity Asset Store implements an audio-throttling feature of some kind (often known as audio pooling), and for good reason: it's the best trade-off in minimizing excessive audio playback ...