Emulator audio delay, lag, or out of sync: fix guide

If the delay is constant (not worsening over time), the audio buffer is configured with too much latency. The emulator is pre-buffering more audio than your hardware needs, creating a fixed delay between action and sound.

RetroArch:

1. Go to Settings → Audio → Output.
2. Find Audio Latency (ms). Reduce it from its current value. Try stepping down: 256ms → 128ms → 64ms → 32ms.
3. Go too low and you will get crackling (see the audio crackling guide). The target is the lowest value that plays without crackle on your hardware — usually 32–64ms on a modern PC.
4. Restart RetroArch after each change and test.

PPSSPP:

1. Settings → Audio → Audio Latency. Move the slider toward Low and test. PPSSPP's default is often higher than needed on modern hardware.

Dolphin:

1. Options → Audio Settings → Latency. Reduce to 30–40ms if your system can handle it without crackling. Dolphin's default of 30ms is already low; if you previously increased it to fix crackling and now have delay, you may need a faster CPU to hold the lower latency.

PCSX2:

1. Settings → Audio → Output Latency. Reduce to 30–60ms.
2. Also try switching Synchronization Mode to TimeStretch (the default) if it was changed to Async — Async can drift audio timing.

If the audio starts in sync but gradually drifts further out of sync as the session goes on, the emulator's internal clock is drifting from real-time. This is different from a fixed delay — it is a timing drift that compounds.

• RetroArch — enable audio synchronization: Settings → Audio → Output → ensure Audio Sync is ON. When ON, RetroArch uses audio as the master timing source and drops/repeats video frames to stay in sync. When OFF, the two can drift.
• RetroArch — disable Frame Delay in combination with max swapchain: Settings → Video → Output → Frame Delay should generally be set to 0 if you are experiencing desync, since high frame delay values can push audio and video out of lockstep on slower hardware.
• Dolphin: Options → Audio Settings → confirm Audio Throttle is enabled. This forces Dolphin to keep audio timing tied to real-time rather than letting emulation speed drift.
• PCSX2 — use TimeStretch mode: Settings → Audio → Synchronization Mode → TimeStretch is the setting designed to prevent audio/video drift. It slightly adjusts audio pitch to keep sync without interrupting playback. Async and Disabled modes are faster but will drift.
• DuckStation: Settings → Audio → Sync Mode should be set to Resampling (TimeStretch). Avoid None mode for long sessions as it will desync.

A mismatch between your monitor's refresh rate and the console's native output frequency is a subtle cause of audio desync — particularly on high-refresh-rate displays (120Hz, 144Hz, 165Hz).

• Most retro consoles output at 59.94Hz (NTSC) or 50Hz (PAL). If your monitor is running at 60Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz, the emulator must compensate for the mismatch. When VSync is ON and the target frame rate does not divide evenly into your monitor's refresh rate, audio stuttering or drift can result.
• RetroArch fix: Settings → Video → Output → try enabling Sync to Exact Content Framerate. This enables the "Windowed" VSync mode that adjusts to the content rate rather than your monitor's fixed rate. Alternatively, try an 8.9ms Frame Delay setting to smooth the handoff.
• All emulators: if your display supports it, temporarily set your monitor to 60Hz in Windows Display Settings and test whether desync improves. If it does, the mismatch was the cause. Solutions include a 60Hz fixed display mode, or enabling frame-time compensation within the emulator.
• Dolphin: Options → Audio Settings → enable Straight to Audio or Synchronize Audio if available in your build. These options reduce the refresh-rate coupling that causes drift on 120Hz+ displays.

If you are using a TV or monitor connected via HDMI, the display itself may be adding audio delay through its internal processing pipeline — this is sometimes called "HDMI audio lag" or "AV sync offset."

• Enable Game Mode on your TV/monitor. Game Mode disables the TV's internal video post-processing (motion smoothing, noise reduction, upscaling) which adds 20–100ms of video latency, causing audio (which arrives instantly) to sound early relative to the delayed picture. Game Mode reduces this to 1–5ms. Access it via your TV's Picture or Input settings menu.
• AV Sync / Audio Delay offset: some TVs have an explicit "Audio Delay" or "AV Sync" setting in their sound menu. If audio arrives before video, increase this offset; if audio is late, decrease it. The right value depends on your specific TV's internal delay.
• HDMI audio format: if your TV or receiver is converting the audio format (e.g., receiving PCM and converting to Dolby Digital), this conversion adds latency. Set your Windows HDMI audio output to match the format the TV passes through natively (usually PCM / Stereo for emulators) to skip the conversion step.
• Headphones / direct audio path: if AV sync is consistently difficult to achieve through your TV, connecting headphones directly to your PC bypasses the TV's audio processing entirely and eliminates TV-introduced delay.