Is Your AV AMP Or Soundbar Making Gaming Input Lag Worse?

Do AV receivers and soundbars add input lag?

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Input lag is a hot topic these days. While gamers across the globe are using input lag as a convenient excuse for constantly getting spanked in online deathmatches, television manufacturers appear to have become engaged in an arms race to deliver the lowest possible input lag figures.

At the same time, games consoles are delivering a more cinematic experience than ever before, particularly in terms of sound, and many gamers are taking advantage of that by connecting their machines to a soundbar or even an AV amplifier.

The question is, though, whether placing an audio device in the chain between the console and TV increases the input lag. And, if it does, is there an alternative way to set everything up? With our trusty Leo Bodnar input lag tester, we set out to find out.

What is input lag?

First things first, though – just what is input lag anyway?

Put simply, input lag is the time it takes for the button presses on a gamepad to appear as actions on the screen. A large amount of lag means you’re always slightly behind the action – even if it is only a fraction of a second – and that’s a recipe for disaster in fast-paced online games, not to mention a frustrating experience all round.

In truth, while a lot of input lag certainly is frustrating, a little too much emphasis is placed on the differences between very low scores. Anything under about 40ms is simply imperceptible to almost everyone, and the insistence by some that they can tell the difference between 10ms and 12ms rings of nonsense.