Latency

Latency is the delay between the moment a broadcaster sends a sound and the moment you hear it. Digital processing adds delay, because the audio must be coded, sent, decoded and often buffered.

You notice it when two sources run side by side. A news jingle on a DAB+ radio may arrive a moment after the same jingle on an FM radio in the next room, and an internet stream is usually later still. The size of the delay depends on the broadcaster and the device.

For casual listening it does not matter. For a live match with a television running at the same time, it can.