winget install --id=MiniantGit.REAL -e
Reduce audio latency on Windows 10
Reduce Audio Latency is a tool designed to optimize audio performance on Windows 10 by reducing latency. It achieves this by requesting minimal buffer sizes from the audio driver, allowing applications to use smaller buffers for smoother audio rendering.
Key Features:
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for gamers, content creators, and audio professionals seeking low-latency audio performance. By minimizing buffer sizes, Reduce Audio Latency provides a more responsive and seamless experience for tasks such as live streaming, gaming, or professional audio recording.
REAL.exe
. The latency reduction is in effect as long as the application is kept running.--tray
Launches the application minimised to the system trayPATH
environment variable to find cmake
if necessary.git clone https://github.com/miniant-git/REAL.git miniant-real
cd miniant-real
cd real-app
./run-cmake.bat
start build/miniant-real.sln
real-app
project in the Solution Explorer and select Build.
real-app/build/Debug/
folder.As described in Mirosoft's Low Latency Audio FAQ section, by default, all applications in Windows 10 use 10ms buffers to render audio. However, if one application requests the usage of small buffers, then the Audio Engine will start transferring audio using that particular buffer size. In that case, all applications that use the same endpoint (device) and mode (either exclusive or shared) will automatically switch to that small buffer size. We make use of this Audio Engine property by starting a rendering stream which requests the minimal buffer size that is supported by the audio driver.
Since the application reduces audio sample buffer size, the buffer runs out faster and needs to be refilled more frequently. This increases the odds of audible audio cracks appearing when the CPU is busy and unable to keep up.