Link Audio shares named audio streams (channels) between peers aligned to the shared Link timeline

Link Audio extends the tempo/beat/phase model with the ability to exchange actual audio between peers in a session. A channel is a named audio stream announced by one peer and received by one or more others; each channel has a persistent channel ID (stable for its lifetime) plus a human-readable display name that may change. A single peer can publish multiple channels — different instruments, tracks, or buses — each with its own ID. Crucially, the transmitted audio can be aligned to the shared Link timeline, so a received stream is not just synced in tempo but positioned in beat-time relative to the receiver. This turns Link from a clock-sharing protocol into a networked audio-routing layer between independent apps.

Examples

A drum-machine app publishes a ‘kick bus’ channel and a ‘hats bus’ channel via Link Audio; a mixing app on another laptop subscribes to both, receives their buffers, and places them at the correct beat positions in its own timeline. Peer and channel IDs stay stable even if display names change.

Assessment

What is the difference between a channel’s ID and its display name, and why does a channel carry both? How does Link Audio go beyond tempo/beat/phase synchronization?