Audio Reactive Visuals Latency Guide for Live Sets
Most tutorials show how to make visuals move. Few explain how to make them move on beat in a real venue. This page focuses on latency targets and signal chain decisions.
Latency targets that feel musical
- Under 16ms: feels tightly synced
- 16-33ms: acceptable for many rooms
- Above 33ms: audience starts to feel drift
Common delay sources
- Audio interface buffer settings
- Wireless routing hops
- Heavy GPU scenes and frame drops
- Cloud-dependent processing during a show
Quick test method
- Feed a metronome click
- Trigger a high-contrast flash on transients
- Record at 120fps and count frame offset
- Tune until sync is repeatable
Need faster setup than custom node builds? Use a purpose-built real-time engine.