> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nomn.jp/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Output Protection and Latency > Safety Mode, the output limiter and soft clipper, gain staging, bypass and the latency CHAKRABOOST reports # Output Protection and Latency Resonant phasers on 8 bands can stack into peaks well above the input level, so the last stage of CHAKRABOOST protects the output. The protection is chosen by **Safety Mode**, which is set through host automation. ## Safety Mode | Safety Mode | Output stage | | - | - | | **Limit** (default) | Lookahead peak limiter, followed by the soft clipper when **SOFT CLIP** is on | | **Soft Clip** | Soft clipper only, when **SOFT CLIP** is on | | **Off** | No protection | ### Limit The limiter looks 1.5 ms ahead, reacts to a peak before it arrives and holds the output at a ceiling of -0.92 dBFS, with an instant attack and a 30 ms release. It is linked across all output channels, including the SUB outputs of a bass-managed layout, so a peak on one channel turns every channel down together and the spatial image does not shift. With **SOFT CLIP** on (the default), a soft clipper behind the limiter catches anything the limiter leaves; signal the limiter has already held at its ceiling passes through it unchanged. The **GR** meter on the MIX tab shows the limiter's gain reduction, with a readout once it passes 0.3 dB. It turns red above 6 dB of reduction; at that point, lower OUT GAIN or the Resonance on the loudest bands. ### Soft Clip In Soft Clip mode the limiter is bypassed, and with **SOFT CLIP** on the soft clipper shapes the peaks. It leaves everything up to -0.92 dBFS untouched and rounds off anything louder on a smooth curve that approaches full scale and never reaches it, with no sudden jump in level where the curve begins. Peaks between -0.92 dBFS and full scale are slightly compressed. With the toggle off this mode leaves the output unprotected. ### Off Off removes all output protection, for measurement or for when a limiter later in the chain handles peaks. Watch the output meters in this mode. ## Gain staging | Control | Range | Where | | - | - | - | | IN GAIN | -24 to +24 dB | Before the crossover | | Band Gain | -18 to +18 dB | After each band's phaser | | OUT GAIN | -24 to +24 dB | After the dry/wet blend, before Safety Mode | The per-band compressors apply no makeup gain, so heavy compression lowers a band. Feedback, Resonance and positive band gains raise it. Set the per-band levels first, then use OUT GAIN to match the processed level to the dry signal, so the GR meter only moves on genuine peaks. ## Latency CHAKRABOOST reports its latency to the host, made of three parts: * 127 samples for the crossover, in both Phase Modes (see [Crossover and Phase Mode](/chakraboost/features/crossover)), * the limiter's 1.5 ms lookahead, applied in every Safety Mode, * in Surround mode, any delay added by distance compensation for the current speaker layout. Without distance compensation, the reported latency is: | Sample rate | Latency | | - | - | | 44.1 kHz | 193 samples (4.4 ms) | | 48 kHz | 199 samples (4.1 ms) | | 88.2 kHz | 259 samples (2.9 ms) | | 96 kHz | 271 samples (2.8 ms) | | 192 kHz | 415 samples (2.2 ms) | When a layout edit, a change of Spatial Mode or a change of bus width alters the distance compensation, CHAKRABOOST reports the new latency. Hosts with plugin delay compensation align CHAKRABOOST with the rest of the session automatically. The dry signal blended in by **MIX** is delayed by the same amount as the processed signal, so the two stay aligned at every MIX setting. To compare the processed and dry sound at matched timing, move MIX between 0% and the working setting. ## Bypass **BYPASS** on the MIX tab is the control your host uses as CHAKRABOOST's bypass. Bypassed audio, whether from BYPASS or from the host, is delayed by the reported latency, so it stays in time with the rest of the session, and switching in or out crossfades over 10 ms without a click or a jump in timing. The meters show the bypassed signal while BYPASS is on. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.