What is Latency Compensation?

Latency compensation is a feature in digital audio workstations (DAWs) that automatically corrects timing delays caused by audio processing. It ensures that all tracks remain perfectly synchronized even when plugins or hardware introduce processing delays.

Certain plugins, especially those used for mastering, convolution processing, or complex analysis, require extra time to process audio. This creates latency, meaning the processed signal is slightly delayed compared to other tracks. Without correction, these delays can cause tracks to fall out of alignment.

Latency compensation works by automatically delaying other tracks in the session by the same amount so that all audio signals remain synchronized. This allows producers and engineers to use complex processing while maintaining accurate timing across the entire project.