Audio latency test. How late is the sound?
Bluetooth headphones, TVs and soundbars add a delay you notice in games and on calls. This test reads what the browser reports, then measures what you really hear: clicks play, you tap along, and the gap is the delay.
One check
- Audio delay
Runs like the stress test: one check after another, with the progress along the top. Nothing you show the camera or say into the microphone leaves this page.
What it measures
Measured here, not assumed.
Reported delay
The output latency the browser itself reports for the path to your speakers or headphones, where it shares one. Chrome and Firefox do; Safari often does not.
Tapped delay
Ten clicks are scheduled on the audio clock. You tap on each one you hear, and the median gap between a click leaving the browser and your tap is the delay, wireless link included. The first two taps are dropped while the rhythm settles.
Against what people notice
Under about 120 ms, sound and picture stay together. From there it shows in games and when people talk over each other. Past 250 ms it is plainly behind.
If it fails
The usual failures, and what fixes each.
- Bluetooth headphones show 150 to 300 ms
- That is normal for the standard Bluetooth audio codec. Use a cable for games, or a headset with a low-latency mode and a dongle. For video, most players compensate on their own.
- A TV or soundbar adds delay
- Switch on its game mode or low-latency mode, and turn off sound processing such as virtual surround.
- Wired audio is slow too
- Close other audio apps, which can add a buffer of their own, and check the system's sound enhancements are off.
Where a browser stops
What it cannot tell you.
- Your own timing. People tap a little early or late; ten taps and a median smooth that out, but the figure is good to about 30 ms, not 3.
- Which part adds the delay: the Bluetooth link, the headphones' processing or the system. It measures the total you hear.
- Delay inside a specific app. Video players compensate for it; games and calls cannot.
Privacy
Nothing leaves this page.
The camera and microphone are read on this page and stopped as soon as they have been measured. The clip you can play back lives in the browser's memory and is discarded when you leave. The location check discards the position. The internet test sends random bytes to this site and nothing else. The result is stored nowhere unless you ask for it by email, and then only the fact that an email was sent is kept.
Questions
Audio delay test, answered
- How do I test Bluetooth audio delay?
- Connect the headphones, open the test, press Play and tap along with the clicks you hear. The test reports the median gap between each click and your tap, which includes the wireless link, so it shows the delay you actually experience.
- How much audio latency is too much?
- Under about 120 ms, sound and picture stay together. Between 120 and 250 ms it shows in games and conversation. Above 250 ms it is plainly behind. Standard Bluetooth headphones usually land between 150 and 300 ms.
- Why do my Bluetooth headphones lag in games but not in videos?
- Video players know about the delay and hold the picture back to match. A game or a call is live, so nothing can be held back, and the full delay shows.
- Is the tapping test accurate?
- To about 30 milliseconds. People tap slightly early or late, which is why ten clicks are used, the first two are dropped, and the median is reported. It is accurate enough to tell a wired headset from a Bluetooth one at a glance.
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