Latency and Delay

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We tend to think that electronic signals travel instantaneously, but they do not. They are merely very fast. And the time delay can be perceived by humans under some circumstances. 

In this episode, I tell the story of hearing my Morse code Amateur Radio signal coming back after circling the Earth, and how there was significant delay in the time it took for broadcast radio network signals to travel through thousands of miles of dedicated telephone lines.

Our digital audio world is full of delays of a different type: latency, which is the result of the time it takes for a computer to do its work. This latency can have a profound effect on a musical performance in the studio. Is there a way around this problem?

Sound delays are part of our world, and reverberation is an example of a “good” kind of delay, as is short repeats of a vocal or other musical sound.

Latency (almost always bad) and delay (which can be good) are two terms that describe much the same thing. Knowing how to use this displacement in time can make your recordings better – or worse.

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