Using ffmpeg audio filter loop instead of stream_loop as stream_loop adds a delay

Question

I want to loop an audio file infinitely. The -stream_loop -1 option adds a small pause / jerk between the loops, as also mentioned in this question with no solution. The same question mentions that filter loop works fine without delay. But I am unable to get the filter loop to work. The below code along with rest of the command:

 -filter_complex "[1:a]aloop=loop=-1"

gives a warning:

[Parsed_aloop_0 @ 0x55d83e516b80] Number of samples to loop is not set!

What is the correct way to loop an audio endlessly using filter loop? I am trying to merge a video and audio, having them both independently loop infinitely. I have got that part to work using -stream_loop -1 but it has a minor delay between loops as I mentioned. I am looking for a solution using either filter_complex or any other way if possible. Thanks!

Note, I have also noticed that ffplay -loop 0 plays the loop smoothly without adding this pause.

Answer 1

I found a workaround for this here! Using wav file as input instead of mp3 works.

Also in my trials, I found that even aac files suffer from this delay, somehow, wav files do not!