Sound Reaction Test
Wait for a short tone, then click, tap, or press Space as quickly as you can. Five valid trials give you a median, best response and consistency while keeping audio-output context visible.
Listen, then react
Enable sound above, then start the five-trial session. The screen deliberately does not flash when the tone plays.
Click / tap / Space · react only after the beep
Auditory reaction history
History stays in this browser. Output type is saved with each session because built-in, wired and wireless audio should not be treated as interchangeable setups.
Complete a sound session to start your history.
| Date | Median | Best | Consistency | Output |
|---|
End-to-end browser audio timing
This score is not pure auditory nerve latency. It includes when the browser schedules the tone, the operating system and audio stack, your speaker or headphones, hearing and processing the cue, and the delay of your click, tap or key press.
ReactionMetric does not subtract a guessed Bluetooth or hardware correction.
Compare the same setup
Wireless audio can add transmission and buffering delay that a web page cannot reliably remove. Built-in and wired outputs can also have their own buffering. For useful personal tracking, keep the same output type across sessions.
After the sound check, browser-reported AudioContext latency fields appear here when available.
Visual vs auditory reaction time
Controlled studies often find differences between auditory and visual response timing, but the size of that difference depends on task design and measurement hardware. A 2024 countermovement-jump study, for example, found faster response time to an auditory cue than a visual cue in its participant sample.
Research context: Lowell et al. (2024), auditory versus visual stimulus. Different task and population; not a browser benchmark.
Sound reaction test FAQ
What is a good sound reaction time?
There is no single trustworthy browser cutoff for a “good” sound reaction time. Lower, repeatable five-trial medians are better, but speakers, headphones, Bluetooth buffering and the browser audio path can shift the number. Compare sessions made with the same output type, and use your saved history rather than judging one unusually fast response.
Does this test use my microphone?
No. The test generates a short tone in your browser and does not record audio or listen to your environment. Your selected output type is saved only with your local test history so you can compare similar setups. See Privacy for how local history and optional analytics are handled.
Does Bluetooth make the result slower?
It can. Wireless audio may add output latency and buffering before the tone reaches you, and the amount varies by device, codec, operating system and browser. Keep Bluetooth and wired sessions separate when comparing results instead of subtracting a guessed fixed delay. See Science & Measurement Notes for device-path limitations.
Is auditory reaction time usually faster than visual reaction time?
Often in controlled studies, but not by one universal amount. A browser sound test also includes audio-output latency, while a visual test includes display timing, so your personal gap can differ from laboratory findings. Compare repeated audio and visual medians on the same device, close together in time, rather than comparing one best click.