Understanding Latency
What is latency?
When recording with most computer-based digital audio applications, a delay between the input and output of
the recording system often disturbs the timing of the musicians who are performing. This delay, known at
latency, means that the musician hears the notes he produces a few milliseconds after having produced them.
As anyone who has spoken on a phone call with echo knows, relatively short delays can confuse the timing of
any conversation, spoken or musical.
To illustrate the effect of latency, Figure A depicts the typical signal path of a vocal overdub session. A vocalist
sings into a microphone, which is routed through a hardware interface to the audio software application for
recording. In the software application, the vocalist’s live signal is mixed with the playback of previously recorded
tracks, and routed back through the hardware interface to the vocalist’s headphones. Because of the audio
application’s latency, the vocalist hears his performance delayed by several milliseconds in his headphones.
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