“What is the Latency of the Direct Pro Q10?”
This is not as simple a question as it seems. There are different types of latency that can occur on a system, and latency itself can vary a great deal depending on what audio software is used, and how powerful the computer is. Here is a simple breakdown of the different latencies you need to be concerned with.
• Monitoring Latency: This is the ability to listen to the incoming signal through the outputs of the Q10, and overdub tracks so they are in sync with one another. The good news is that the Q10 provides zero Monitoring latency.
• Mixing Latency: Mixing latency refers to how long it takes for audio software to respond to commands such as volume changes, and transport controls. In ASIO programs such as Cubase, it can get as low as 4ms. Non-ASIO programs may experience anywhere from 50 to 300ms latency.
• SoftSynth Latency: This refers to the time it takes for a software synthesizer to respond to an incoming MIDI command, such as pressing the key on a controller keyboard. Most Software Synthesizers are ASIO compatible, so you’re likely to encounter 4ms to 12ms latency on most computers. Some programs use DirectSound instead of ASIO, which creates slightly higher latency, is typically still tolerable.