REAPER Audio Workflows
How to fix recording latency in REAPER (the delay in your headphones)
Published July 24, 2026
That echo or delay you hear while recording is monitoring latency: the time it takes your voice to go into the computer, through REAPER, and back out to your headphones. The three fixes that matter most are to use a proper low-latency driver (ASIO on Windows), lower your audio block size in Options › Preferences › Audio › Device, and, if your audio interface supports it, switch to hardware (direct) monitoring so you hear yourself straight from the interface with almost no delay. On most setups this is very fixable. It will not go away over Bluetooth headphones, which add a delay no software setting can remove.
Latency while recording is one of the most common reasons a beginner gets stuck in REAPER. You hit record, start singing or talking, and your own voice comes back a fraction of a second late in the headphones. It throws off your timing and makes a good take almost impossible. The reassuring part is that this is a setup problem, not a talent or gear problem, and it usually takes a few minutes to sort out.
This guide explains what the delay actually is, how to bring it down inside REAPER step by step, and, just as important, which causes no buffer setting will ever fix.
What is actually happening
When you monitor through REAPER, your signal takes a round trip. It goes from the mic into your interface, gets converted to digital, waits in a small buffer, passes through REAPER and any plugins on the track, waits in another buffer, gets converted back to analog, and finally reaches your headphones. Every one of those buffers adds a little time. Added up, that round trip is the delay you hear.
The main dial that controls it is the block size, sometimes called buffer size. It sets how many samples the audio hardware collects before handing them over. A smaller block size means less delay, but it asks more of your CPU. Push it too low and you get clicks, pops, or dropouts. So the goal is not zero, it is the lowest setting your computer can hold cleanly.
In Options › Preferences › Audio › Device, REAPER shows an estimated input and output latency for your current driver and block size. You can also open this panel by clicking the audio device readout in the top right of the main window. Watch that number as you make changes.
Fix it in REAPER, in order
Work through these from the top. The first two solve most cases on their own.
Use the right audio driver
On Windows, the default sound drivers are not built for low-latency recording. In Options › Preferences › Audio › Device, set the driver mode to ASIO and choose your interface’s own ASIO driver. If your interface does not have one, the free ASIO4ALL is a common fallback. On macOS, Core Audio is already low-latency, so you are set.
Lower the block size
In the same panel, drop the requested block size. A sensible starting range for tracking is 128–256 samples. At a 48 kHz sample rate, 128 samples is roughly 3 ms per buffer, low enough that most people stop noticing the delay. If you hear crackles or the CPU meter spikes, step it back up.
Use hardware monitoring if you can
Many interfaces can send your input straight to your headphones in hardware, before it ever reaches the computer. That is direct monitoring, and it is effectively zero latency. If you use it, turn off REAPER’s input monitoring on the track (click the track’s monitor toggle so it is disabled) or you will hear yourself twice.
Keep the recording track light
If you monitor through REAPER to hear effects, remember that plugins on that track add their own delay. Heavy processors like linear-phase EQ or look-ahead limiters are the worst offenders. While tracking, monitor as dry as you can, or use only light, low-latency plugins.
There is a floor. Raising the block size while mixing is smart because it gives you CPU headroom, so a common workflow is a low block size (around 128–256) for recording and a higher one (512–1024) for mixing. Do not leave a tiny block size in place all the time, or you will fight dropouts during playback.
Software monitoring vs hardware monitoring
These are two different ways to hear yourself, and knowing which you are using explains most latency confusion.
Software (input) monitoring routes your live signal through REAPER, so you can hear reverb, compression, or a vocal chain on your voice as you perform. The cost is the round-trip delay described above. It is great once your block size is low enough that the delay stops bothering you.
Hardware (direct) monitoring sends the input to your headphones inside the interface, bypassing the computer, so the delay is essentially gone. The trade-off is that you hear a dry signal, with no REAPER effects, unless your interface has its own onboard processing. For most singers and podcasters, a clean dry monitor with no delay beats a delayed monitor with effects.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Test | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noticeable echo of your own voice | Block size too high, or slow driver | Check reported latency in the Device panel | Switch to ASIO, lower block size to 128–256 |
| You hear yourself twice | Software and hardware monitoring both on | Mute one source and listen | Turn off REAPER’s track monitor if using direct monitoring |
| Delay only with plugins active | Plugin latency on the recording track | Bypass the track FX and listen | Monitor dry or use light, low-latency plugins |
| Crackles when you lower the buffer | CPU cannot hold that block size | Watch the CPU meter | Raise block size until it is clean |
What this will not fix
Lower buffers and direct monitoring solve the common cases, but some delays come from somewhere else entirely.
- Bluetooth or wireless headphones. These add a large, built-in delay for audio, often far more than any recording buffer. No REAPER setting removes it. Use wired headphones for recording.
- Generic shared drivers. If you stay on a default Windows driver instead of ASIO or an exclusive-mode driver, the baseline latency stays high no matter how low you set the block size.
- An underpowered computer. If the CPU simply cannot run a small block size without dropouts, there is a practical limit to how low you can go. Hardware monitoring is the reliable answer in that case.
- Effects on a zero-latency monitor. Direct monitoring gives you a dry signal by design. It will not let you hear REAPER reverb or a vocal chain in real time unless your interface has onboard effects.
- Recorded audio that lands slightly out of time. If the take plays back a touch early or late against your other tracks, that is recording offset, a separate alignment setting, not the monitoring delay you hear live.
With the right driver and a sensible block size, most home setups get monitoring latency low enough that you stop noticing it, and direct monitoring removes it almost entirely. What you cannot do is beat physics with a slider: there is always some delay when the sound travels through the computer, so the trick is to route around it, not to chase zero.
Once recording feels right
When you can perform without a delay throwing you off, the next job is tone. If you want to hear light effects while you track, or shape the voice afterward, build a lean processing chain so it stays low-latency. See how to build a REAPER vocal chain with stock plugins, and if the room is bleeding into your takes, how to reduce background noise in REAPER covers cleaning that up.
The delay you hear while recording is monitoring latency. Use an ASIO or other low-latency driver, lower the block size to about 128–256 samples for tracking, and switch to hardware direct monitoring when your interface offers it, turning off REAPER’s input monitor so you do not hear yourself twice. Raise the buffer back up for mixing. And if the delay is coming from Bluetooth headphones, no setting will fix it, so plug in.
Sources
- Cockos, REAPER User Guide (current version 7.78, released July 18, 2026) - audio device preferences, requested block/buffer size, and track input monitoring. reaper.fm/userguide
- Cockos, REAPER Troubleshooting Guide (PDF) - audio device setup and latency-related settings. reaper.fm/guides/ReaperTroubleshootingGuide.pdf
- Cockos, REAPER version history - confirms current release 7.78 (July 18, 2026). reaper.fm/whatsnew.txt