What is a good audio latency?

Under 20 ms is ideal for playing an instrument or singing through headphones. Under 40 ms feels instant in games. Up to about 100 ms is fine for watching video, because video apps delay the picture to match. Above 150 ms you’ll notice it in games and anywhere the app doesn’t compensate.

Why does YouTube look in sync on my Bluetooth headphones when this test shows 200 ms?

Bluetooth headphones report their delay to your phone or computer, and video players hold back the picture by the same amount. Games, music apps, video calls and this test can’t do that, because the sound has to play the moment something happens. So you still notice the delay there.

How accurate is the tap test?

With a steady rhythm, it’s typically accurate to within ±10–20 ms. The tool shows the margin for your run. Because you tap to a rhythm instead of reacting to a surprise, your reaction time cancels out, and the visual step removes your screen and input delays. For the most precise number on speakers, use the mic loopback method, which is accurate to about 1 ms.

Does the result include my screen’s delay?

The tap and sync slider methods measure audio relative to your screen. That’s exactly what matters for lip sync and games, because you see and hear things together. If your display has 30 ms of lag and your audio has 30 ms, the result is about 0 ms, and the two really are in sync.

Can I test the latency of my microphone?

The mic loopback method measures the round trip: speaker output plus microphone input. Your input latency is roughly the round trip minus the output latency. On most computers the two are similar, so input latency is about half the round trip.

Why is my result different every time?

Tap results vary by 5–15 ms between runs because human timing varies. Larger swings usually come from Bluetooth, which adjusts its buffer to the radio conditions (move closer to the device, or away from Wi-Fi routers and USB 3 ports). They can also come from a busy computer.

Does it work on phones and tablets?

Yes. Tap the pad with your finger instead of pressing Space. On iPhone, the ring/silent switch doesn’t mute this test. Keep the screen on and the page in the foreground during the test.

Audio Latency Test – Measure Bluetooth & Audio Delay

How to test your audio latency

Connect the headphones or speakers you want to test and set the volume so the clicks are clearly audible.
Press Start test and tap along with the flashing circle, using Space on a keyboard or your finger on the pad. Aim to tap exactly on the flash, the way you’d tap your foot to music.
When the circle disappears, tap along with the clicks you hear. Look away from the screen so you follow only the sound.
Read your result. The number is how many milliseconds your sound arrives after the picture. The first 4 taps of each step are warm-up and aren’t counted.

The audio latency test showing a result of about 160 milliseconds with the method tabs, tap pad and result details labeled — Pick a method. The *Tap test* works everywhere, including Bluetooth. *Sync slider* is for lip-sync. *Mic loopback* gives a precise round-trip time on speakers.
The tap pad. Tap anywhere on it, or press `Space`.
Your audio delay, with the margin of error for this run.
Details: your average timing in each step, how steady your taps were, and the delay your browser reports (which usually doesn’t include Bluetooth).

What is audio latency?

Audio latency is the time between a sound being produced and you hearing it. Every step adds a little: the app’s audio buffer, the operating system’s mixer, the driver, the connection to your speakers or headphones, and the headphones’ own processing. Wired audio usually adds 5–20 ms. Bluetooth adds far more, because the audio has to be compressed, sent over the radio in packets, buffered against dropouts, and decoded.

There are three kinds of latency. Output latency is from the computer to your ears. It’s what you notice in games and video. Input latency is from a microphone into the computer. Round-trip latency is both together, and it matters when you play an instrument or sing while hearing yourself through the computer.

Typical latency by connection

These are typical one-way output delays measured with this kind of test. Your device may be better or worse.

Connection	Typical latency	Notes
Built-in speakers, wired headphones (3.5 mm)	5–30 ms	Mostly operating system buffering
USB audio interface (ASIO / Core Audio)	3–15 ms	Lower with smaller buffer sizes in your music software
2.4 GHz wireless gaming headset (USB dongle)	15–40 ms	The best wireless option for games
HDMI / ARC / eARC to TV, soundbar or receiver	20–120 ms	Depends on TV processing and its game mode
Bluetooth LE Audio (LC3)	30–100 ms	Newer phones, Windows 11 PCs and earbuds
Bluetooth aptX Low Latency / Adaptive (low-latency mode)	40–80 ms	Both ends must support it
Bluetooth aptX / aptX HD	100–160 ms	Common on Android and some Windows PCs
Bluetooth AAC (AirPods, iPhone, Mac)	120–220 ms	Apple devices compensate in video apps
Bluetooth SBC (default codec)	150–250 ms	Used when no better codec is shared
Earbuds with a “game mode”	60–100 ms	Trades some stability for lower delay

How to reduce Bluetooth audio delay

Turn on game mode or low-latency mode in your earbuds’ app, for example Galaxy Wearable, Nothing X, JBL Headphones, Soundcore or Jabra Sound+. Then measure again to confirm it helped.
Choose a better codec on Android. Enable Developer options (tap Build number 7 times in Settings → About phone), then use Bluetooth audio codec while connected. aptX Adaptive or LC3 is fastest. LDAC sounds good but has high latency.
Use LE Audio on Windows 11 if your PC and earbuds support it: Settings → Bluetooth & devices → Devices → turn on Use LE Audio when available.
Keep the signal strong. Weak or crowded radio links make headphones enlarge their buffer. Stay close, and keep the phone or PC out of your back pocket and away from USB 3 hubs and Wi-Fi routers.
For gaming or music, use wired or a 2.4 GHz dongle. No Bluetooth codec matches a cable, and 2.4 GHz gaming headsets typically get under 40 ms.
On Windows, close apps that use the headset microphone. They switch Bluetooth headphones into hands-free mode, which also degrades sound.

How to fix lip-sync problems

Use the Sync slider method above. It tells you how much to shift the audio, and in which direction. Then enter that value here:

TV: look for AV sync, Lip sync or Audio delay in the sound settings. For example, LG: Sound → AV Sync Adjustment; Sony: Sound → A/V sync; Samsung: Sound → Expert Settings → Digital Output Audio Delay (for optical and ARC output). Also try turning on Game mode, which cuts video processing delay.
Soundbar or AV receiver: most have an AV Sync or Lip Sync setting in their menu or remote app. Enable Auto lip sync over HDMI if available.
VLC: press J to make audio 50 ms earlier, or K to make it 50 ms later. You can also use Tools → Track Synchronization. If audio is behind, press J (result in ms ÷ 50) times.
OBS Studio: right-click the audio mixer → Advanced Audio Properties → Sync Offset. A positive value delays that audio source to match a delayed camera.

How each method works

Tap test

A typical online latency test asks you to react to a beep, so most of what it measures is your reaction time (around 200 ms), which varies a lot from one tap to the next. When you tap along to a rhythm, you anticipate each beat, so reaction time drops out. The test first measures your timing against a flashing circle, which captures your personal tapping habit and your screen and keyboard delays. Then it measures your timing against clicks. Clicks are scheduled on the audio clock, so the only extra delay in the second step is the audio path. The difference between the two steps is your audio delay relative to the picture. Outlier taps are discarded, and the margin shown is the statistical uncertainty of your run.

Sync slider

A flash and a click are scheduled for the same moment, and the slider delays the flash. When they look and sound simultaneous to you, the slider value equals how late the audio arrives compared with the picture. This is exactly the number a TV or media player’s audio delay setting needs. A negative value means the picture is the late one.

Mic loopback

The test plays five clicks at randomized intervals and records your microphone, with echo cancellation and noise suppression turned off. Every recorded sample is timestamped on the same audio clock that scheduled the clicks. So the gap between each click being sent and its arrival in the recording is the full round trip: output buffering, the speaker, sound traveling through the air (about 3 ms per meter), the microphone and input buffering. It’s precise to about a millisecond, but it can’t hear headphones unless you hold an earbud right against the microphone.