Term: Latency 

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Latency is the time it takes for digital audio to pass through a processor or audio device. Latency matters most when recording or performing live and can often be managed by adjusting the DAW buffer size. Some interfaces provide workflows that minimize audible latency while recording. While mixing, any latency caused by a plugin will automatically be corrected by the DAW’s automatic delay compensation feature. Since plugin processing requires a fixed number of samples regardless of sample rate, it might be advantageous to use higher sample rates to reduce the amount of perceived latency.