This is an audio delay comparison of Ventrilo, Teamspeak, and Mumble. These three are what I consider the top 3 VoIP applications available for PC gamers needing a voice chat solution. The previous test was over a year old, and since 2 out of the 3 applications have had significant updates since that time, this page needed updating with newer and more detailed information. In the previous test I had also used a lower quality codec than I should have for the Ventrilo test, and this has been addressed in this revision.
It is easy to hear the difference when listening to the below comparison, but when you are actually playing a game and get words out quicker to your teammates compared to the other team still using ventrilo, the results are amazing. It really does matter.
This is a bit dated article now. Teamspeak has had several releases which added the Opus codec and lowered their delay to essentially match that of mumble.
The Testing Method
For the tests, I would run 2 instances of each program's client on my local machine. Or in Teamspeak 3's case, have a tab open for each connection to the server, as Teamspeak 3 allows you to connect to multiple TS3 servers at once using a single client. Muting one client's microphone, I would speak while recording my system microphone, as well as the program's sound output. This allowed me to record the entire process of my voice being sent out to the internet on client #1 and being played back through client #2 after it received the data from the remote server. The server for this test was located in texas, while my connection is coming from the east coast.
After listening to the difference, check out our Mumble Server with your friends. The server information is in the right sidebar on this page.The Server Software Configuration
Ventrilo Server 3.0.3, x86 Linux
- Ping while testing: 35
- Codec: Speex (32 KHz, 16 bit, 10 Qlty) - Bytes/Sec 5520
Teamspeak Server 3.0.0 (release) Build 14957, x86 Linux
- Ping while testing: 36
- Codec: Speex Ultra-Wideband (32khz) Quality 10, Delay 1 (20ms) - 7.57 Kb/sec
Mumble Server 1.2.3, x86 Linux
- Ping while testing: 40
- Server Bandwidth: 128000 bits/sec
- Client Bandwidth: 72 kb/sec
- Client Audio Per Packet: 10ms
- Codec: CELT
The Comparison
After listening, be sure to link to this page on your guild/clan website (or your game's community forums) and get them to listen to the difference.
