Jump to content

Headphone Latency

Chesthair
 Share
Posted

Hi, I’m am currently in the process of deciding on new headphones. Recently my beats broke (Yea I know beats are overpriced but at the time I bought them I really had no idea about how bad they actually are) and my gaming headset is falling apart. So now I am looking for a good pair of headphones that I can both listen to music with at home and in public as well as game with. After some basic research of the current headphone market I have narrowed my options down to 3 pairs: Audio-Technica ath-m50x (BT or wired), Bose qc35 ii wireless, and sennheiser pxc550 wireless. There is one major thing that I am wondering about that may help rule out the Bluetooth headphones. I understand that the Bluetooth wireless headphones will have a high latency which I cannot have for gaming. However, I would be willing to plug in a 3.5mm aux cable when I game if that would reduce the latency significantly. Please if u know anything about this help me out or if u have any suggestions for me share them, Thanks!

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
14 minutes ago, Chesthair said:

Hi, I’m am currently in the process of deciding on new headphones. Recently my beats broke (Yea I know beats are overpriced but at the time I bought them I really had no idea about how bad they actually are) and my gaming headset is falling apart. So now I am looking for a good pair of headphones that I can both listen to music with at home and in public as well as game with. After some basic research of the current headphone market I have narrowed my options down to 3 pairs: Audio-Technica ath-m50x (BT or wired), Bose qc35 ii wireless, and sennheiser pxc550 wireless. There is one major thing that I am wondering about that may help rule out the Bluetooth headphones. I understand that the Bluetooth wireless headphones will have a high latency which I cannot have for gaming. However, I would be willing to plug in a 3.5mm aux cable when I game if that would reduce the latency significantly. Please if u know anything about this help me out or if u have any suggestions for me share them, Thanks!

I have a Bluetooth headset (Sony) that I use with my phone. My headset broke a year ago and I used the headset instead for a while. As expected Bluetooth was unusable. Plugging the 3.5mm in and no latency, perfectly usable.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11945845
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
1 minute ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

wired is the way to go competitive gaming, but if you want low latency bluetooth for casual games and movies/tv you want to make sure the headhones you get use apt X low latency. none of the headphones you listed have it.

AptX isn't good enough for gaming. My headset has it and it was much better than normal but still unusable. (at least in my experience) 

Radio frequency direct connection is the only wireless solution that's low enough latency. 

As for using it with a phone and a pc is so much easier with a 3.5mm jack for me. Come home listening to music on phone, sit down, plug headset in, Bluetooth disconnected and ready to go on pc. 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11945880
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
2 minutes ago, r4tch3t said:

AptX isn't good enough for gaming.

I did say wired for competitive games, but it doesn't really matter if the backing music and sound effects are a few milliseconds off on games like tomb raider or assassins creed. RF is definitely the way to go if you just want wireless gaming headphones, but op said he wants to use them outside. he's not going to get very far on RF.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11945924
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
16 minutes ago, SuperCloneRanger said:

He's not going to get very far on RF.

Legally at least ?

For aptX I should have qualified it better. Not an pro by any stetch. But the latency between hitting the ball in rocket league and the sound effect was just enough to be uncomfortable. A better headset or Bluetooth adaptor might be enough to tip it over to usable. 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11946007
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

I do think it is very dependent on the device and you have to make sure the transmitter supports it to, if the transmitter you used didn't specify supporting apt x you should try a new one. i've never noticed sync issues when watching tv or gaming on my headphones, i'm sure there is some, all wireless headphones have some latency, but i don't see/hear it.

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11946091
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
7 hours ago, r4tch3t said:

AptX isn't good enough for gaming. My headset has it and it was much better than normal but still unusable. (at least in my experience) 

Radio frequency direct connection is the only wireless solution that's low enough latency. 

As for using it with a phone and a pc is so much easier with a 3.5mm jack for me. Come home listening to music on phone, sit down, plug headset in, Bluetooth disconnected and ready to go on pc. 

Ok so, does that mean that if i do end up choosing a wireless pair, I can always just use the optional wire when I’m gaming that is included and play latency free?

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11946749
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
14 minutes ago, Chesthair said:

Ok so, does that mean that if i do end up choosing a wireless pair, I can always just use the optional wire when I’m gaming that is included and play latency free?

The wire will only be needed if you got a Bluetooth headset as Bluetooth has too much latency for games.

If you choose one of the ones you listed then they will work great wirelessly with very low latency to the PC, but will be difficult to connect to your phone. 

 

Trying to sum it up... 

Bluetooth to phone - yes

Bluetooth to PC - no

RF to PC - yes

RF to phone - maybe, not really worth it. 

Wired to anything - lowest latency, best sound quality. 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11946815
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

Ok so I just went to a local store to test each of these headphones out and based on comfort, I just have to go with the wireless Bose. I just want to confirm, though, that if I just use an audio cable with the Bose when I’m gaming, there will be 0 latency (or practically 0 latency). 

Link to comment
https://linustechtips.com/topic/992716-headphone-latency/#findComment-11952236
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Audio

×