How Much Audio Delay Does Your System Have?
Measure the roundtrip audio latency from output to input on your system. Essential for music production, live streaming, and real-time audio applications where every millisecond counts.
Measures the total roundtrip audio latency — the time it takes for a test impulse played through your speakers to be detected by your microphone, measured in milliseconds.
Professional audio production requires latency below 10 ms to avoid perceptible delay. Human perception threshold for audio delay is approximately 10-15 ms.
Permission Required
This test requires microphone access for loopback measurement. No audio data leaves your browser.
What Do Your Results Mean?
| Result | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Good | Below 20 ms roundtrip latency | Excellent latency suitable for professional music production, real-time monitoring, and live performance. Delay is imperceptible to most users. |
| Warning | 20–50 ms roundtrip latency | Acceptable for video calls and casual use, but musicians may notice a slight delay during real-time monitoring. Consider using ASIO or low-latency audio drivers. |
| Poor | Above 50 ms roundtrip latency | Noticeable delay that will cause echo in calls and timing issues in music production. Check your audio buffer size, driver settings, and whether Bluetooth audio is adding extra latency. |
Common Issues & Solutions
Latency is extremely high (over 200 ms)
Bluetooth audio devices add 100-300 ms of latency due to encoding. Switch to wired headphones or speakers for low-latency audio. Also check that no audio enhancements or effects processing is enabled in your OS sound settings.
Test results vary wildly between measurements
Background applications may be competing for audio resources. Close other audio-using apps, disable audio enhancements, and ensure your speaker and microphone are positioned consistently. Run at least 5 rounds for a reliable median.
Microphone does not detect the test impulse
Increase your speaker volume so the microphone can pick up the test tone. Make sure speakers and microphone are within reasonable proximity. If using headphones, the test requires open-back headphones or speakers so the mic can hear the output.
Latency is good on wired but poor on Bluetooth
This is expected. Bluetooth audio codecs (SBC, AAC) introduce 100-200 ms of latency. aptX Low Latency reduces this to ~40 ms. For critical use, always prefer wired connections.