E
ecc83
Well-known member
^Phew!^ Latency is the delay introduced by the A/D and DA converters in a AI and the time the computer takes to process the signals.
If you are tracking a live band say, it is not a problem, where it does become a problem is where you want to use software pluggins to enhance a real time signal. Adding reverb or distortion to a guitar part say. Latency is also much more of an issue for keyboard players that want the 'soft synth' in the PC to reproduce as they play.
With a good AI/driver/PC system you can usually set the buffer to a low enough value to give an acceptable delay. People differ in their sensitivity to delay. Some can work with 10mSec others struggle with half that but you can to a degree learn to live with latency (church organists e.g.) The problems arise as you try to reduce the buffer size and hence the delay because reducing the buffer causes the CPU to work harder and some cannot and you get glitching and stuttering.
However, from my admittedly limited experience, latency is mainly in the gift of the interface and especially the drivers. Really well written driver can not only reduce buffer sizes but also make the performance hit on the PC as low as possible. Top of the tree for both qualities are, it is generally agreed RME.
These days, with even a modest (well configured) computer, i3 or better good drivers can deliver very low latency over USB 2 (USB 3 seems in general no better) and is easily good enough for most people. If you want faster you need to go TB or Ethernet.
Dave.
If you are tracking a live band say, it is not a problem, where it does become a problem is where you want to use software pluggins to enhance a real time signal. Adding reverb or distortion to a guitar part say. Latency is also much more of an issue for keyboard players that want the 'soft synth' in the PC to reproduce as they play.
With a good AI/driver/PC system you can usually set the buffer to a low enough value to give an acceptable delay. People differ in their sensitivity to delay. Some can work with 10mSec others struggle with half that but you can to a degree learn to live with latency (church organists e.g.) The problems arise as you try to reduce the buffer size and hence the delay because reducing the buffer causes the CPU to work harder and some cannot and you get glitching and stuttering.
However, from my admittedly limited experience, latency is mainly in the gift of the interface and especially the drivers. Really well written driver can not only reduce buffer sizes but also make the performance hit on the PC as low as possible. Top of the tree for both qualities are, it is generally agreed RME.
These days, with even a modest (well configured) computer, i3 or better good drivers can deliver very low latency over USB 2 (USB 3 seems in general no better) and is easily good enough for most people. If you want faster you need to go TB or Ethernet.
Dave.