subject: What is Latency in Audio Recording [print this page] What is Latency in Audio Recording What is Latency in Audio Recording
If you record with a computer and sound card/audio interface, then you need to read this.
Latency is the time difference between input and output of any digital audio workstation. It is cause by mathematical/algorithmic issues and by mechanical/physical procedures that occur mostly in software and A/D and D/A converters, and when hard drives are used.
Latency literally means the build up of delays in an audio signal as it passes through the audio interface.
Latency is measured in milliseconds. There is input latency, output latency and round trip latency.
You get latency when you monitor an audio signal through a computers signal chain. If you ever heard a delay sound when triggering a synth with a midi controller, you actually experienced latency.
You can also get latency form using effects (VST's / DX's) with hidden buffers. These effects are CPU intensive and usually meant to be used in mastering stage of a project.
You experience latency if your ASIO buffers are set to high or your WDM latency is set to high.
Solving it: Your round trip latency should be less than 11 milliseconds if you do not want to experience latency.
In ASIO driver mode, make sure your ASIO buffers are at its lowest settings. A setting of 32, 64, 128, or 192 should be acceptable.
In WDM driver mode, make sure you slide the latency slider all the Way to the left. A millisecond settings of 5ms or less should be acceptable.
Make sure you go to your interface/sound card manufactures web site and download/install the latest drivers for your operating system.
Try both driver modes to see what works best for you and your PC.
These days, many recording platforms and audio interfaces offer zero latency monitoring. This means that your audio signal is sent to your main outs and/or headphone outs during recording is split from the input audio signal, before the digital conversion takes place. Basically, before it enters the computer. This means that you will not hear any software effects when you're recording using this method. Also, some recording systems will allow for both latent and non latent signals to be heard at the same time. You need to make sure that this doesn't happen.
