Microphone latency is the delay between making a sound and the computer hearing it. The Latency panel above plays clicks through your speakers and times how long each takes to return through the mic.
Microphone Latency Test — how to do it
- Use speakers, not headphones
The test plays a click and listens for it coming back through the microphone. Headphones break that loop and the measurement fails.
- Start the microphone test
Latency measurement needs a live input stream, so press Start test first and confirm the meter is moving.
- Set a moderate volume
Loud enough for the microphone to hear clearly, quiet enough not to overload it. Around half volume works for most systems.
- Quieten the room
Any background noise can be mistaken for the returning click. Close windows and pause fans if you can.
- Run the measurement
Five clicks are played and timed. The result is the average of the tightest passes, with the single best pass shown separately.
- Compare against buffer size
The panel also reports the browser's own output latency and buffer figures so you can see how much of the total is software.
How to reduce audio latency
- Use a wired connectionBluetooth adds 100 to 250 ms in most cases. Any wired headset or microphone removes that in one step.
- Use ASIO on WindowsAudio interfaces with ASIO drivers bypass the Windows audio stack and typically achieve under 10 ms output latency.
- Close background applicationsA busy CPU forces the audio driver to use larger safety buffers, increasing delay.
- Avoid USB hubs and long cablesEvery extra hop adds latency and jitter to a USB audio device.
- Turn off audio effectsVendor enhancement software processes audio in additional buffers, which shows up directly as delay.
What round trip actually measures
Round-trip latency is the sum of several delays: the application preparing audio, the output driver buffering it, the digital-to-analogue conversion, the travel time through air, the analogue-to-digital conversion, the input buffer, and finally the application receiving it.
Software is responsible for nearly all of it. The air gap at typical desk distance contributes about 3 ms, while buffering on a consumer system routinely contributes 40 to 100 ms. That is why reducing buffer size and avoiding Bluetooth make far more difference than moving the microphone closer.
Common questions
Is Bluetooth latency fixable?
Not really. Codec choice helps a little, but the protocol overhead sets a floor. Wired is the only reliable answer for live monitoring.
What is a good latency figure?
Under 60 ms round trip feels instant for monitoring. Under 20 ms is professional territory. Above 120 ms is distracting for anything live.
Does the measurement include the speed of sound?
Yes, but only slightly. Every metre between the speaker and the microphone adds about 3 ms.
Why do results vary between runs?
Buffer scheduling and CPU load fluctuate. That is why the test averages several passes and reports the best one separately.
Related tests
If that was not it, try: a plain browser mic test, testing an iPhone microphone, or testing on Ubuntu.
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