How to bypass system-supplied signal processing for built-in microphone on Macs?

Question

Created Apr ’22

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On newer Macs, the audio input from an external microphone plugged into the headphone jack (on a pair of wired Apple EarPods, for example) does not add any noticeable latency.

However, the audio input from the built-in microphone adds considerable (~30ms) latency. I imagine this is due to system-supplied signal processing that reduces background noise.

Is there a way of bypassing this signal processing and reducing the latency?

On iOS, there is an AVAudioSessionModeMeasurement mode that disables signal-processing and lowers input latency. Is there an equivalent for MacOS?

FYI, on the 2015 MacBook Pros, there is no noticeable added latency on the built-in mic. This is an issue that affects newer computers, including the M1 line.

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Answer 1

mangonerd OP

Oct ’22

In my case, I want to bypass the internal processing to get rid of the sudden noises that come up due to the ambient noise reduction on the built in audio jack. The noise reduction does not work with sudden loud sounds and it introduces noise then all of a sudden disappears, makes it very hard to process the audio

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Answer 2

mangonerd OP

Oct ’22

In my case, I want to bypass the internal processing to get rid of the sudden noises that come up due to the ambient noise reduction on the built in audio jack. The noise reduction does not work with sudden loud sounds and it introduces noise then all of a sudden disappears, makes it very hard to process the audio

0