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I did a latency test (again) of portable speakers and was instantly depressed

xmortenxxmortenx
in General App Discussion

I once did a pretty disapointing test to find a portable speaker without latency - and the results where depressing since only Marshall Stockwell 1 did not introduce latency on the 3.5 mm input.
(I can link to it below)

However it blew up so I just bought the Stockwell 2 thinking it would be like the old one, but it looks and feels like Marshall´s new line use time consuming DSP to do their thing...

So I did a small test with the speakers I had at hand.

MacBook Air > Logic Pro > Rme > Shure Sm58 - And then played a ping through this chain with the mic to the speaker to see what was up with new Marshall Stockwell 2..

Speakers where: ( I order of Latency - best is first)

Headphones (No Dsp)
Macbook Speaker (2014).
Iloud Micro
Yamaha Thr30II
Ikea enemy (the smallest one )
Marshall Stockwell 2

Both the Marshall and Eneby was sadly full of latency that make them unusable for piano and guitar playing.

So now what ? Can any recommend a small portable speaker (battery powered) that works without latency above 2 ms.....

Actual measurements will be appreciated or advice from picky instrument players that can notice these things. I have noticed in many threads (perhaps all of them) people in good faith chiming in about "speaker x does not feel to have latency to me" when it put the test is full of latency.

All the best
:smiley:

Comments

  • xmortenxxmortenx

    Here is the measurements from last time I tried to find a speaker and Marshall Stockwell 1 won :)

  • boogiemarkboogiemark

    Hi there! I happened upon your posts while Googling for the same thing!

    I've got a few data points to contribute, sorted from best to worst:

    Soundcore Motion+: <=1ms
    W-King D10: 12ms
    Tribit Xsound Go: 14ms
    Tribit Stormbox: 21ms
    W-King D8: 22ms
    Tribit Maxsound Plus: 172ms (!)

    The latencies were calculated by splitting a signal to the speaker and my audio interface, then recording the signal as well as a microphone pointed at one of the woofers, then determining the offset of the mic signal.

    As you can see, the only speaker amongst the above with low enough latency is the Soundcore Motion+, which also happens to be the only one with a customisable EQ. It's definitely worth taking a look at if you're looking for something around that size.

    I actually play bass, (electronic) drums and synth and have been looking for something a bit more lightweight than an 8-10" PA speaker for quieter jams and busking, but I was hoping to find something a bit beefier than the Soundcore Motion+. Besides the latency (which I can mostly tolerate if it's 14ms or less), the bigger speakers above have other drawbacks, e.g. noise gates, hiss and distortion. For now, it seems an all-in-one solution is out of reach and I'll have to stick to using a battery-powered class-D amp plugged into some speakers.

    I hope that helps!

  • androkznandrokzn

    I would like to share my experience with testing an AUX latency.

    I finally tested JBL Extreme (a 2015-year model) and confirmed information about low(zero) AUX latency for this speaker.

    I used the same approach as xmortenx.

    I used JBL Extreme, JBL Extreme 2 and Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus for comparison. As a reference point for zero latency, I used the internal speakers of my MacBook and headphones Sony WH-1000XM3 (wired connection).

    Assuming that the MacBook speaker and the headphone have zero latency I calculated the latency level for the speakers.

    • JBL Extreme. Latency: 5 - 6 ms (not noticeable at all)

    • Anker Soundcore Motion Boom Plus. Latency: 9-10 ms (not really noticeable)

    • JBL Extreme 2. Latency: 24 - 25 ms (extremely noticeable)

    I do not know why I have about a 30ms delay for MacBook speakers and the headphone. I performed the test a dozen times with the same results. It is what it is. Hopefully, my tests and experience bring more clarity to the AUX latency issues for most modern portable speakers.

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