Tip: You can leave input monitoring turned on before, after, and during recording. When input monitoring is on, the Record Enable button and the Auto Input Monitoring feature do not affect software monitoring—that is, you can always hear incoming audio signals. When you’re punch recording, however, you should use Auto Input Monitoring rather than the Input Monitoring buttons. For more information about Auto Input Monitoring, see Punch in and out of audio recordings.

Note: Input monitoring always involves some latency. The amount of latency depends on the audio hardware and the driver settings. In certain configurations, it may be best not to turn on input monitoring, to obtain the best possible timing. Route the signal you want to record directly to headphones or a monitoring amplifier—and to the audio interface inputs, for recording. You won’t accidentally overdrive your A/D converters, because the input level meters display a clipping warning if an overload occurs.