[linux-audio-user] Linux/ALSA/Jack latency tests

[Daniel James]

Hello,

In the course of researching another Linux article for Sound on Sound, 
I was having a discussion with the features editor about latency, 
specifically Linux versus Windows and Mac. The only cross-platform 
serious study I'm aware of is this one, which is a bit out of date:

http://gigue.peabody.jhu.edu/~mdboom/latency-icmc2001.pdf

Now the features editor looked it up for himself and found this page, 
also out of date I think:

http://www.rme-audio.com/english/linux/alsa.htm

It quotes a latency under Linux for the Hammerfall of 20ms, where as 
Windows can do 6ms with this card if you install the ASIO drivers. I 
think he's now sceptical that Linux can compete with Windows/ASIO in 
the area of low latency.

Can any RME (or other pro card) users on the list quote reliable 
latency figures for their own systems? It would be very helpful.

My personal experience is that you can get negligible latency on 
Audacity overdubs with Mandrake and the 'multimedia' kernel, compared 
to obvious latency on Windows 98. But I haven't set up any scientific 
tests with matching hardware.

Cheers

Daniel