I have activated the software playthrough preference so that I can hear realtime recording from the microfone through my headphones, I am getting a lagof 0.2 secbetween real time and playback through my head phones.
I have windows 10
Yes. That’s correct. You’re experiencing your voice or performance “one computer late,” the time it takes for your voice to get into the computer, turn around and come back out again. It’s fixed. There’s no adjustment to make it go away.
That’s why the three instanced of "Perfect Overdubbing’ I reviewed all had you listening to the sound device rather than the computer. The microphone in this case.
That does work and you can hear the performance exactly like it’s going to be recorded.
Are you trying to overdub or Sound-On-Sound? This is usually where people bump into this problem.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tutorial_recording_multi_track_overdubs.html
Koz
That’s normal. Well actually, less delay than usual.
The only way to get no delay at all is if there is a hardware “playthrough” path. With software playthrough there is an unavoidable delay due to the time it takes for the sound from the microphone to go through the sound card drivers, various buffers in the sound system, then back out via the sound card drivers through to the sound card and out through your headphones.
Some microphones have a built-in headphone socket to provide hardware playthrough (also known as “zero latency monitoring”). Most USB microphone pre-amps provide zero latency monitoring, and recording via a mixing desk with the headphones plugged into the mixing desk is another way to achieve zero latency monitoring.
“Software plythrough” latency may be minimised (but not eliminated) by using low latency ASIO drivers, but unfortunately we are unable to distribute Audacity with ASIO support due to licensing restrictions.
The simplest workaround is to just turn off software playthrough and not bother about hearing yourself in the headphones.
Which brings us to Gary Owens.
Everybody thinks he was being stupid, comical and theatrical, but that’s a real thing. You sluice some of your live voice up to your ear through your cupped hand to mix with everything else. The other ear can be one muff of your headphones with the guide track in it from the computer.
You are trying to overdub, right?
Attached, this is Josh doing a four-part, 16th century choral… by himself. One ear is for him and the other for the guide track.
This forum has snappier response than most, so you shouldn’t wander off.
Koz
