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Switch Bluetooth audio devices latency tests
- Thread starter Herb Alpert
- Start date
Just adding my contribution. My Sony WH-CH700N has significant delay and would be unusable in my opinion. My AirPods Pro on the other hand while it has some slight noticeable delay, some games would probably be tolerable with this. In both cases though, you can certainly tell there is latency.
tested jabra move wireless, sennheiser 4.40 bt and my active speakers (not that I would ever have a use case for bt on them)
can't really tell if they have wildly different latency but for me they are all unplayable, the sennheisers have pretty much unlistenable quality and hissing as well
I'll keep packing my koss kph30i if I plan on playing handheld
can't really tell if they have wildly different latency but for me they are all unplayable, the sennheisers have pretty much unlistenable quality and hissing as well
I'll keep packing my koss kph30i if I plan on playing handheld
Used my Bose QC 35 II and I couldn't notice any delay over Bluetooth.
The latency is horrible if the Switch is paired to both wireless headphones and a wireless controller, though.
The latency is horrible if the Switch is paired to both wireless headphones and a wireless controller, though.
I also post it here:
Okay, I did the latency test in Cadence of Hyrule and I'm impressed.
I'm using a day 1 launch Switch with AirPods Pros.
Latency handheld mode without headphones:
Latency handheld mode with bluetooth headphones:
So yeah, if a rhythm game has some calibration tool, I can totally play those games with bluetooth headphones. But also I'm impressed by the latency when compared to my gulikit adapter
Okay, I did the latency test in Cadence of Hyrule and I'm impressed.
I'm using a day 1 launch Switch with AirPods Pros.
Latency handheld mode without headphones:
Latency handheld mode with bluetooth headphones:
So yeah, if a rhythm game has some calibration tool, I can totally play those games with bluetooth headphones. But also I'm impressed by the latency when compared to my gulikit adapter
I have Zolo Liberty wireless earbuds and they are terribly delayed. For context, I jumped in Super Mario World and the jump sound did not play until Mario reached the apex of a full hold jump...is bad...
I have the Razer True Wireless Earbuds and besides taking a long time to get the initial pair with the switch, they work great in gaming mode and have no noticeable lag for me. I had been using them with the homespot usb-c adpater before this, and it defintely works and sounds better than it was coming out of that adapter. The maximum volume is about 3x what it was before which is amazing.
I know nobody asked for this but I was surprised it wasn't in the OP.
I compiled all the opinions under their respective bluetooth devices, sectioned them off by subjective level of latency, and alphabetized them
Disclaimer: All of the below are anecdotal and come from the previous comments in this thread
Unnoticeable or no delay
Bose QuietComfort 35 II
- "couldn't notice any delay over Bluetooth" - Apopheniac
Google Pixel Buds A-Series
- "virtually no lag ... hard/borderline impossible to notice" - Killthem
Jabra Elite 75t
- "virtually no lag ... hard/borderline impossible to notice" - Killthem
Jaybird Tarah Pro
- "works fine without any noticeable audio delay" - NoWayOut
Logitech Z337
- "no (noticeable) lag at all" - Doctor Phishshoe
Mpow Flame
- "work fine, and I don't detect eny apparent lag" - NeonBorealis
Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds
- "they work great in gaming mode and have no noticeable lag for me" - SkekesisVR
Minor but mostly unbothersome delay
Apple AirPods
- "you can tell there's a delay" - Descapp
- "working fine I think" - Mbolibombo
- "slight delay" - b3llydrum
- "noticeable" - kimbo99
- "maybe a little lag but it's very very small, hard to notice while playing" - Nintenleo
Apple AirPods 2
- "slight delay" - Ashler
- "slight delay" - Hopz2Brew
- "I can bear it ... still noticeable" - Putosaure
- "minor delay that didn't seem too bad" - Kevers
Apple AirPods Pro
- "impressed [at the ~39ms latency according to Cadence of Hyrule's latency calibration]" - Martin
- "you can tell there's a delay" - Descapp
- "while it has some slight noticeable delay, some games would probably be tolerable with this" - Darknight
Apple Beats Powerbeats
- "tiiiiiniest bit of delay" - super etrian odyssey
Apple Beats Powerbeats Pro
- "very slight delay. Maybe 50ms" - Anustart
Edifier W800BT
- "The latency didn't bother me at all, should be in the 100ms~200ms range maybe." - El Buga
JBL Charge 4 (speaker)
- "The latency didn't bother me at all, should be in the 100ms~200ms range maybe." - El Buga
Google Pixel Buds Gen 2
- "slighty delay that really doesn't annoy me" - xewind
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2
- "Slight lag but not very noticeable to me" - Legacy
Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless Earbuds
- "delay is slight. Not that noticeable." - SpScarecrow
SLS-100 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
- "noticeable" - Reinhardt Schneider
Sony h.ear on 2
- "noticeable but minor" - Perkin_Warbeck
Sony WI-SP500 In-Ear Sports Wireless Headphones
- "minor lag (100ms?), Switch volume and earbuds volume are not linked" - MarcelRguez
Soundcore Life P2
- "pretty minimal amount of delay" - RedHeat
Soundcore Life Q30
- "pretty minimal amount of delay" - RedHeat
Noticeable and bothersome delay
Apple Airpods 2
- "very noticeable. I'll continue to use wired" - Disco Infernal
Bose QuietComfort 35 II
- "Not crazy bad delay, but it was there (inevitably). The sound quality was notably worse than a wired connection" - Pineconn
Samsung Galaxy Buds
- "lag is certainly noticeable" - hergipotter
Google Pixel Buds
- "like a half second delay" - DarkSora
Jabra Elite Active 65t
- "pretty bad" - colui
Mi True Wireless Earbuds
- "latency is very distracting" - Fezan
OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z
- "slightly noticeable delay ... if it were just 10% better, it wouldn't bother me at all" - André
POM Gear Smart Pods
- "like a 1 second delay" - Zombegoast
Sennheiser HD 4.50 BT
- "Too much of a delay for me for regular use" - LuigiV
Sony h.ear on 2
- "there's a noticable delay of about half a second" - HandsomeCharles
- "noticeable lag connected directly to the Switch, of a fraction of a second but enough that I won't be using them" - LouieGeetoo
Soundcore Liberty Air 2
- "half a second delay" - Shibata100
Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic 2
- "very noticeable amount of lag" - hergipotter
Critically unusable amount of delay
Audio-Technica ATH-CKR7TW
- "major lag makes the game unplayable (900ms)" - MarcelRguez
Jabra Move
- "for me they are ... unplayable" - empo
Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT
- "for me they are ... unplayable" - empo
Sony WF-1000XM4
- "pretty noticeable audio delay" - Dest
- "unusable" - TheThirstyPrisoner
- "lag is unusable" - Ada
Sony WH-1000XM3
- "downright unusable lag" - DALE
Sony WH-CH700N
- "significant delay and would be unusable in my opinion" - Darknight
Zolo Liberty
- "terribly delayed ... so bad" - RadzPrower
I compiled all the opinions under their respective bluetooth devices, sectioned them off by subjective level of latency, and alphabetized them
Disclaimer: All of the below are anecdotal and come from the previous comments in this thread
Unnoticeable or no delay
Bose QuietComfort 35 II
- "couldn't notice any delay over Bluetooth" - Apopheniac
Google Pixel Buds A-Series
- "virtually no lag ... hard/borderline impossible to notice" - Killthem
Jabra Elite 75t
- "virtually no lag ... hard/borderline impossible to notice" - Killthem
Jaybird Tarah Pro
- "works fine without any noticeable audio delay" - NoWayOut
Logitech Z337
- "no (noticeable) lag at all" - Doctor Phishshoe
Mpow Flame
- "work fine, and I don't detect eny apparent lag" - NeonBorealis
Razer Hammerhead True Wireless Earbuds
- "they work great in gaming mode and have no noticeable lag for me" - SkekesisVR
Minor but mostly unbothersome delay
Apple AirPods
- "you can tell there's a delay" - Descapp
- "working fine I think" - Mbolibombo
- "slight delay" - b3llydrum
- "noticeable" - kimbo99
- "maybe a little lag but it's very very small, hard to notice while playing" - Nintenleo
Apple AirPods 2
- "slight delay" - Ashler
- "slight delay" - Hopz2Brew
- "I can bear it ... still noticeable" - Putosaure
- "minor delay that didn't seem too bad" - Kevers
Apple AirPods Pro
- "impressed [at the ~39ms latency according to Cadence of Hyrule's latency calibration]" - Martin
- "you can tell there's a delay" - Descapp
- "while it has some slight noticeable delay, some games would probably be tolerable with this" - Darknight
Apple Beats Powerbeats
- "tiiiiiniest bit of delay" - super etrian odyssey
Apple Beats Powerbeats Pro
- "very slight delay. Maybe 50ms" - Anustart
Edifier W800BT
- "The latency didn't bother me at all, should be in the 100ms~200ms range maybe." - El Buga
JBL Charge 4 (speaker)
- "The latency didn't bother me at all, should be in the 100ms~200ms range maybe." - El Buga
Google Pixel Buds Gen 2
- "slighty delay that really doesn't annoy me" - xewind
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 2
- "Slight lag but not very noticeable to me" - Legacy
Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless Earbuds
- "delay is slight. Not that noticeable." - SpScarecrow
SLS-100 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones
- "noticeable" - Reinhardt Schneider
Sony h.ear on 2
- "noticeable but minor" - Perkin_Warbeck
Sony WI-SP500 In-Ear Sports Wireless Headphones
- "minor lag (100ms?), Switch volume and earbuds volume are not linked" - MarcelRguez
Soundcore Life P2
- "pretty minimal amount of delay" - RedHeat
Soundcore Life Q30
- "pretty minimal amount of delay" - RedHeat
Noticeable and bothersome delay
Apple Airpods 2
- "very noticeable. I'll continue to use wired" - Disco Infernal
Bose QuietComfort 35 II
- "Not crazy bad delay, but it was there (inevitably). The sound quality was notably worse than a wired connection" - Pineconn
Samsung Galaxy Buds
- "lag is certainly noticeable" - hergipotter
Google Pixel Buds
- "like a half second delay" - DarkSora
Jabra Elite Active 65t
- "pretty bad" - colui
Mi True Wireless Earbuds
- "latency is very distracting" - Fezan
OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z
- "slightly noticeable delay ... if it were just 10% better, it wouldn't bother me at all" - André
POM Gear Smart Pods
- "like a 1 second delay" - Zombegoast
Sennheiser HD 4.50 BT
- "Too much of a delay for me for regular use" - LuigiV
Sony h.ear on 2
- "there's a noticable delay of about half a second" - HandsomeCharles
- "noticeable lag connected directly to the Switch, of a fraction of a second but enough that I won't be using them" - LouieGeetoo
Soundcore Liberty Air 2
- "half a second delay" - Shibata100
Xiaomi Mi True Wireless Earbuds Basic 2
- "very noticeable amount of lag" - hergipotter
Critically unusable amount of delay
Audio-Technica ATH-CKR7TW
- "major lag makes the game unplayable (900ms)" - MarcelRguez
Jabra Move
- "for me they are ... unplayable" - empo
Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT
- "for me they are ... unplayable" - empo
Sony WF-1000XM4
- "pretty noticeable audio delay" - Dest
- "unusable" - TheThirstyPrisoner
- "lag is unusable" - Ada
Sony WH-1000XM3
- "downright unusable lag" - DALE
Sony WH-CH700N
- "significant delay and would be unusable in my opinion" - Darknight
Zolo Liberty
- "terribly delayed ... so bad" - RadzPrower
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Airpods 2 there's a minor delay that didn't seem too bad within game and was more noticeable at the menu without music.
Second test: I just got an Onn Rugged Speaker for using in the shower to listen to podcasts. Surprisingly low latency for a $15 speaker. It's noticeably laggy when you sit and pay attention to it, but if you're not playing a game where audio queues are important (say a competitive shooter or a rhythm game) I think it would be something you could
Much louder than the built-in speakers on the Switch as well, but the quality isn't anything to write home about...but for $15 what do you expect. Certainly passable for me as long as I'm not playing something like Fortnite.
Much louder than the built-in speakers on the Switch as well, but the quality isn't anything to write home about...but for $15 what do you expect. Certainly passable for me as long as I'm not playing something like Fortnite.
Thank you! Very useful.
Bit Disappointed AirPod family aren't good.
I still want confirmation of whether there is a minimal delay of 170 ms, because that is unusable for me.
Audeze penrose x.
Played a bit of diablo and there was a tiny bit but im not sure. Will trh other games later. Sounded fantastic though. Didnt even know there was guitar strumming in the loading screens even when using my plug in headphones
Played a bit of diablo and there was a tiny bit but im not sure. Will trh other games later. Sounded fantastic though. Didnt even know there was guitar strumming in the loading screens even when using my plug in headphones
Connected my WH-1000XM3s and played for a bit in docked mode with a Pro Controller. The lag was very noticeable but not unbearable in my opinion. What really bothered me though was the audio quality. These headphones usually sound really good over BT but the Switch codec is not the greatest it seems. Disappointing.
Fiio BTR3 receiver. Latency immediately noticeable when navigating the home menu and listening to the clicks, probably between 100-200ms over the switch 3.5mm. Pretty typical for the SBC codec. Will do a proper latency measurement later.
Note the BTR3 is a pretty good receiver imo, I once tested it on PC with the AptX-LL codec and got about 30ms over the motherboard 3.5mm.
Note the BTR3 is a pretty good receiver imo, I once tested it on PC with the AptX-LL codec and got about 30ms over the motherboard 3.5mm.
Noticeable lag in the menu. Very quiet even with the max volume setting off. I haven't tested too much though and when I could hear it the quality sounded good.
But also to remember it is a reaction based test!
There can be a huge human error and it could be worse when measured correctly/professionally
Hoping these hold up well enough with my Beats Flex I can get rid of the wired headphones I keep in my switch case for travel haha.
Played MH Rise for a couple hours last night using my Bose AE2w. I thought they were quite good, personally. Had to try twice to get it to connect to my Switch but once they were I had no dropped signal nor any crackle (save a smidge when loading my save file at the main menu). Reviews on Rtings says it has some horrendous latency, but truthfully I thought every swordstrike was in time and every monster roar came through crystal clear. Comfortable and high quality audio
Also the headphones I tried. Didn't notice any perceptible lag in a few rounds of Mario Kart and a bit of time in Monster Hunter Stories 2.
I switched from handheld (joycons) to docked (Pro controller) at one point. Didn't notice any increase in lag with the Pro controller, however it was a bit of a pain to move from the joycons to that as the joycons count as hitting your 2 wireless controller limit so I had to manually disconnect the headset, connect the Pro controller, disconnect the joycons, then reconnect the headset.
It's a bit of an edge case since I imagine I'd normally be using headphones almost exclusively in handheld, but it does highlight the limitations that are at play and possibly why Nintendo hesitated on this for a while.
I did notice some slight lag in menus that weren't there in games, but it was so subtle it only really occurred to me it was there after reading your comment.
The trick with the volume seemed to be turning the system volume to the max, then turning the volume up on the headphones themselves. That got the volume up to a much more normal/comfortable level.
Holy shit, so I press a button, watch a commercial and then finally Mario goes "yahoo!"
Using AirPods Pro and not noticing any discernible delay. Actually surprised at how good it is.
The controller I was using was a third party one. With the official Pro Controller the latency was much less noticeable, though I think sound quality took a hit.
I hope for consistency's sake that people testing this are either using the attached Joy-Cons in handheld or using are using their wired controllers with the setting for that turned on. I suspect that may be the source of some of the discrepancies in these tests.
I checked Rtings and turns out they measure SBC codec latency of every Bluetooth headphone they review.
These are latency measurements on PC, but I don't expect the switch to be much different and it's enough to compare one headphone to another.
www.rtings.com
On each headphone review page, search for "PC Latency (SBC)"
Apple Airpods Pro: 188ms
Sony WH-1000XM4: 212ms
These are latency measurements on PC, but I don't expect the switch to be much different and it's enough to compare one headphone to another.
Bluetooth Connectivity Score and Tests: Headphones
Our Bluetooth tests evaluate the wireless features provided by Bluetooth headphones. We measure the latency of many common codecs and report multi-device pairing as well as quick pairing.
www.rtings.com
Apple Airpods Pro: 188ms
Sony WH-1000XM4: 212ms
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I also post it here:
Okay, I did the latency test in Cadence of Hyrule and I'm impressed.
I'm using a day 1 launch Switch with AirPods Pros.
Latency handheld mode without headphones:
Latency handheld mode with bluetooth headphones:
So yeah, if a rhythm game has some calibration tool, I can totally play those games with bluetooth headphones. But also I'm impressed by the latency when compared to my gulikit adapter
Oh snap that's a great idea, will have to try that in abit.
Tested out a pair of Mpow H1's (Bluetooth 4.1) earlier with Sayonara Wild Hearts and Superbeat Xonic and there wasn't any real noticable delay on my day 1 switch.
Edit: running about 120ms audio delay over bt, around 60 through handheld speakers. Not bad at all for wireless unless you are super sensitive.
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Good to see I'm not the only one having issues.
The thing is for both my earbuds (galaxy buds+, AirPods) and Bluetooth headphones (mpow very cheap ones), they work fine, but at a randomly the audio then desyncs, and stays that way at a fixed lag that's just not useful.
Each device works perfectly on iPhone and PC. Currently the best option is to stick with daisy chaining the headphone jack to PC and mirror the audio via Bluetooth, or I'll have to buy some Bluetooth dongle, which I just don't want to do if Switch had Bluetooth that might be fixable somehow.
I'll keep an eye out on patches
The thing is for both my earbuds (galaxy buds+, AirPods) and Bluetooth headphones (mpow very cheap ones), they work fine, but at a randomly the audio then desyncs, and stays that way at a fixed lag that's just not useful.
Each device works perfectly on iPhone and PC. Currently the best option is to stick with daisy chaining the headphone jack to PC and mirror the audio via Bluetooth, or I'll have to buy some Bluetooth dongle, which I just don't want to do if Switch had Bluetooth that might be fixable somehow.
I'll keep an eye out on patches
I measured the Fiio BTR3 with the Switch - recorded the sound of a button press followed by the home menu click, and measured the time between sounds in Audacity.
The BTR3 on the Switch shows roughly 230ms latency over the native 3.5mm out, which is pretty awful.
I guess the BTR3 isn't up to snuff for SBC latency compared to other Bluetooth headphones, I wish I had something else to compare it with.
For some reason my hanmerhead true wireless pro bluetooth headsets dont pair at all and now im sad 🥺
Quoting myself, but I tested it again in handheld mode this time. The lag and especially sound quality were significantly better. I then tried it in docked mode again, but used a wired Pro Controller and same thing, much better sound quality and lag. The quality definitely tanks when there is more than one BT device connected it seems. Headphones + two controllers is unusable IMO.
All models apparently. It substitutes some Bluetooth bandwidth from controllers for audio. There are a few exceptions of it not working but if you are playing solo in handheld mode it won't be a problem.
Does anyone know how to pair the Sony XM4s to the Switch? I turn my on and keep it nearby but my Switch can't find it. Am I missing something when it comes to pairing?
You might have to put it in pairing mode. Should be a button hold or something similar. If it's a slider switch like my Bose, it would be a slide and hold for a few seconds to get it in pairing mode.
Interesting people noticing lag on the Sony XM3s. I've spent probably a good 5 hours now using both them and a pro controller at the same time and I've noticed no lag. It's no different to using my dongle, pretty impressed.
I figured it out, I had to hold the power button down after turning it on for like 8 seconds. Got it working, thanks for the help.
I just tried Cadence of Hyrule and I was getting anywhere from 80ms of audio latency up to 150ms, I was still able to play fine, but it was noticeable.
Tested my Sony WH-H900Ns playing SSBU. The lag is more noticeable in the Switch home menu than in game, though still noticeable. However after playing for a bit I got used to it.
Also tested my AirPods Pro and can after that the lag is noticeable, but tolerable. I stopped noticing after playing a while.
I would place both the above devices as "noticeable, but tolerable after a few minutes".
Also tested my AirPods Pro and can after that the lag is noticeable, but tolerable. I stopped noticing after playing a while.
I would place both the above devices as "noticeable, but tolerable after a few minutes".
OP
OP
So I went with jabra elite 75T in the end, as they were at 99€ at my local fnac, and I'm pretty happy with them so far. I think there is a very tiny lag but that's probably the bare minimum we can reach with the switch codec and that's totally tolerable as far as I am concerned.
Did my first commute this morning and this update is a true game changer. I can switch from playing my Switch to listening music from my phone very easily, and the lack of wires is even more useful wearing masks :)
Did my first commute this morning and this update is a true game changer. I can switch from playing my Switch to listening music from my phone very easily, and the lack of wires is even more useful wearing masks :)