Audio Latency Calculator

Audio Latency is the delay between when a sound is produced and when you hear it through your monitoring system. In music production and live performance, low latency is essential for real-time playing.

Formula: Latency (ms) = (Buffer Size / Sample Rate) × 1000

For round-trip latency (input + output): Round-trip = Input latency + Output latency = 2 × (Buffer Size / Sample Rate) × 1000

Where:

• Buffer Size = Number of audio samples in the buffer (e.g., 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024)
• Sample Rate = Samples per second (e.g., 44,100 Hz, 48,000 Hz, 96,000 Hz)

Common Buffer Sizes and Latencies (at 44,100 Hz):

Perceptibility Thresholds:

Sample Rate Effects: Higher sample rates reduce latency for the same buffer size:

• 128 samples at 44.1 kHz = 2.9 ms
• 128 samples at 96 kHz = 1.3 ms
• 128 samples at 192 kHz = 0.7 ms

Additional Latency Sources: Real-world latency includes more than just the audio buffer:

• Driver overhead: 1–3 ms (ASIO is fastest on Windows)
• Plugin processing: 0–10 ms depending on plugin type
• USB/Thunderbolt interface: 1–2 ms
• Converter latency: 0.5–1.5 ms (A/D and D/A conversion)

Typical total round-trip with overhead: buffer latency × 2 + 3–7 ms.

Practical Example: Recording guitar through a USB interface at 48 kHz with a 128-sample buffer: One-way: 128 / 48,000 × 1000 = 2.67 ms. Round-trip: ~5.3 ms + ~4 ms overhead = ~9.3 ms total. Comfortable for playing.

Tips:

• Use ASIO drivers on Windows for lowest latency. macOS Core Audio is already efficient.
• Lower buffer = lower latency but higher CPU load. If you hear crackling, increase the buffer.
• When mixing (not recording live), use a larger buffer to reduce CPU strain.
• Freeze/render CPU-heavy tracks to free up processing power for smaller buffers.