I’m interested in booting a low(er) latency kernel on my Kubuntu 25.04 workstation for media production. I’m aware that Ubuntu Studio exists separately for this purpose, but my goal is to try achieving low latency within my existing setup first before exploring that option.
It seems like there has been a lot of change over the recent Ubuntu releases with respect to latency settings; here are some of the threads I’ve read:
- Enable low latency features in the generic Ubuntu kernel for 24.04
- Fine-Tuning the Ubuntu 24.04 Kernel for low latency, throughput, and power efficiency
- Ubuntu Studio and Low Latency in the Generic Kernel
I am a bit confused about which package I should install/the extent to which low latency settings are already incorporated into my 6.14.0-15-generic kernel. In threads 1 and 2 above, it sounds like Ubuntu moved in 24.04 to making the default kernel a low latency kernel, and in thread 3, a maintainer of Ubuntu Studio expresses confusion about what this means for Ubuntu Studio. But if I search for low latency-related packages, I still get a few things I can install:
$ apt search lowlatency
linux-lowlatency/plucky-updates,plucky-security 6.14.0-22.22 amd64
Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers with lowlatency boot configuration
linux-lowlatency-hwe-24.04/plucky-updates,plucky-security 6.14.0-22.22 amd64
Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers with lowlatency boot configuration
linux-lowlatency-hwe-24.04-edge/plucky-updates,plucky-security 6.14.0-22.22 amd64
Complete Generic Linux kernel and headers with lowlatency boot configuration
lowlatency-kernel/plucky 1.2 amd64
Low Latency Kernel Settings
ubuntustudio-default-settings/plucky,plucky 25.04.21 all
default settings for the Ubuntu Studio desktop
ubuntustudio-lowlatency-settings/plucky,plucky 25.04.21 all
Adds lowlatency kernel as boot default if available
What are all these different packages for? The packaging info is not very informative:
$ apt info ubuntustudio-lowlatency-settings
Package: ubuntustudio-lowlatency-settings
Version: 25.04.21
Priority: optional
Section: universe/x11
Source: ubuntustudio-default-settings
Origin: Ubuntu
Maintainer: Ubuntu Studio Developers <ubuntu-studio-devel@lists.ubuntu.com>
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Installed-Size: 45.1 kB
Pre-Depends: dpkg (>= 1.15.7.2~)
Depends: grub2-common
Homepage: https://launchpad.net/ubuntustudio-default-settings
Task: ubuntustudio-desktop, ubuntustudio-desktop-core
Download-Size: 19.0 kB
APT-Sources: http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu plucky/universe amd64 Packages
Description: Adds lowlatency kernel as boot default if available
This package makes the lowlatency kernel the default kernel in GRUB.
Also adds a second entry for the generic kernel if available.
Is this “lowlatency kernel” different from the one configured for generic Ubuntu 24.04 (thread 1 above)? Should I expect to achieve lower latency if I install that package?
The Kernel’s you mention are confusing to me, but for UbuntuStudio-Sdettings:
Ubuntu Studio Default Settings is a package that sets up various settings for the Ubuntu Studio desktop environment and also pulls in other packages that form the artwork, sounds, and other elements that make use of these settings.
It includes settings needed for the Ubuntu Studio desktop environment and also settings for the live OS.
This package is maintained by the ubuntustudio-dev team.
The package can be found on Launchpad at ubuntustudio-default-settings package : Ubuntu.
No one has ever acussed Linux as being intuitive. 
I use most but not all of what come in with that package…
OK, I’m going to stay away from ubuntustudio-default-settings because it sounds like it will overwrite my pipewire etc. settings that I painstakingly got working through manual configuration XD. That package includes ubuntustudio-lowlatency-settings as a dependency which seems more narrowly targeted to what I want—but again, this just gets back to my original question which is whether Ubuntu Studio’s “low latency settings” are actually any different from/lower latency than those that have been already incorporated into the Ubuntu kernel since 24.04.
Ah That helps, The Ubuntu 24.04 kernel now includes additional low-latency tunable settings, allowing users to adjust the kernel’s behavior for different performance profiles without needing to switch kernels.
These settings enable dynamic adjustments for low latency, throughput, and power efficiency, eliminating the need for kernel recompilation.
I’m fine with the stock kernel on mine and like you I also have it set to my liking no need to change that. Plus I use ZFS root so kernels are bit touch and go on my end.
You could if your super curious about the differences on those kernels install and see for your self any changes made. (It should not overwrite your settings you have now)
See Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration – Ubuntu Studio
No. As discussed in some of the threads you read, it will eventually disappear. Had I known about the lowlatency capabilities of the kernel starting in 24.04 I would’ve switched it, but the kernel team didn’t communicate that with me in time.
For 24.04, it does make the lowlatency kernel the default (it doesn’t require ubuntstudio-default-settings to be installed), and for 24.10 and later it contains a few more additions.
Yeah, you’re making more work for yourself than necessary. ubuntustudio-installer exists for the purposes of what you’re trying to achieve.
Thank you!! Is there anything I would check in Ubuntu Studio Installer that you would expect to provide lower latency over and above the kernel tweaks that (as you say) are already worked into my kernel? I already have pipewire, jack, and all my software working so I’m actually trying to avoid making any (potentially breaking) changes unless they will specifically lower my latency.
Without a hardware DSP, there is no way to achieve zero latency. However, I typically run at 256/48000 on my USB audio interface to achieve about 5ms latency, which is indistinguishable to the human ear from zero latency. Just FYI: the kernel isn’t the bottleneck; oftentimes it’s your hardware and IRQs. The kernel paremeter threadirqs does a lot of heavy lifting there.
The big thing is the built-in sound card on most motherboards cannot achieve low latency, so having equipment that is made for this is what you really need.
TL;DR: The kernel tweaks aren’t going to be a silver bullet. You need hardware that is made for what you’re trying to achieve.
For sure—I run a USB audio interface and indeed it’s doing the bulk of the work, just want to make sure I’m not leaving anything else on the table.
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