too far away?
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I am trying to play clarinet duets with a colleague on the East Coast, so 3000 miles apart! We are both using wired connections and internal mikes and earphones. The latency that shows on the program is 42 ms. Is this simply too much? When we play together, she hears us in unison, but I hear her a bit behind me, making it impossible to really get together. Then when we record we she is behind me. So it really isn’t working, but seems odd that she is hearing us together. Any suggestions?
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Dear Stewart,
If one of you uses a Mac from 2016 or later, have them use a wired external mic, not the built-in mic. The mic that’s part of the wired Apple EarPods https://a.co/d/6Aiemyk works great.
To help a Mac user get set up, point them to our requirements and QuickStart guide for using FarPlay on Macs without external audio interfaces.
If one of you uses a Windows PC, have them use an audio interface that comes with manufacturer-supplied ASIO drivers. The least expensive option I know of is the $80 iRig Stream Mic USB https://a.co/d/0wHZp0y. The $120 Focusrite Scarlett Solo https://a.co/d/9VVcvtl has better audio quality. To use it, you need a separate XLR mic like the $35 Behringer ECM8000 https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0506-AAA and a mic stand like this $15 model https://a.co/d/icoc3ob.
To help a Windows PC user get set up with the lowest latency, point them to our requirements and QuickStart guide for using FarPlay on Windows PCs with external audio interfaces.
The suggestions above will greatly reduce your latency. You’ll feel that you’re roughly 40 feet apart, which will let you play laid-back rhythmic duets together (playing rhythmically in sync with fast tempos would still be hard).
Optional information
Built-in mics on Macs from 2016 or later and on Windows PCs add substantial latency. For example, the built-in mics on Macs from 2016 onward add about 30 ms of latency that’s not included in the remote latency FarPlay displays. So, if your friend uses a Mac’s built-in mic and you see a remote latency from them of 42 ms, the latency from them is actually about 72 ms.
If you start playing and then your colleague jumps in and plays along with your sound when she hears it (a short delay after you make the sound), she will hear herself playing in unison while she’ll sound delayed to you. This effect should be much less noticeable once you two switch away from using internal mics.
Thank you,
David Liao
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