Wireless Headset Delays
I recently switched from a wired USB phone headset to a wireless headset for recording, and when playing back noticed I was consistenty a fraction of a second late on the beat. Now, I still sometimes struggle to stay on beat with quick passages and partial triplets, but not this badly; so I went back to the wired headset and had no delay. Anyone else encounter this? Is there a fix? I record using Audacity on Windows 10.
Thanks,John
That's what I'd concluded, since I couldn't find any information on the Internet.
Thanks,
John
If it is consistent, the delay can de undone when mixing in the tracks, just move the harmonica one to start a bit earlier. If the mixing fluctuates to much, though, this would be too inconvenient, since then you need to splice the harmonica track and adjust each part appropriately. But in my experience the delay is usually consistent within the session. There's even software which will measure the delay (which can happen even in wired setups, for example if the sound does through the browser, and i find this case to fluctuate more) and automatically adjust it.
Moving to wired headsets is simpler of course.
Hadn't thought of that. That's a creative solution. I did search for a way to account for the delay during recording, but there's nothing like that available in Audacity. For now I'm back to my wired headset, but I may give your suggestion a try. Thanks.
Yes, if I understand correctly, I had the same problem (actually with any mic I use) and was able to sort it thanks to this very good tutorial found here on the website. Have you seen it ? https://www.bluesharmonica.com/recording_audacity_0
I struggled a little bit when using low quality mics though, because I didn't have a very accurate recording signal to refer to in order to correctly calculate the delay and then accurately set the latency compensation. But even then, with a few tries I was able to get a decent result. It works much better with my Sure mic through an interface (still get delay but more able to sort it)
I hope that helps.
The tutorial is done on a Mac if I remember correctly. Like you, I'm using Windows 10, I had to fumble around a bit to transpose so if I can be of any help regarding that aspect, please do ask !
Thanks miggieb00gie! That's exactly what I was looking for. I don't know how I missed it before; it's an obvious place now that I know where to look. I'll have to experiment a bit more, but initial calibration shows over 1/3 second delay (364ms) with my wireless headset. This forum is awesome - so many people with so much great information and experience.
Thanks again
John
I'm glad it helped
Hi John,
There really isn't any fix to this, wireless has a delay, so the reality is you do need wired. Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that. My setup is Windows 11 and Audacity.
Graham