Question

Will the new latency management and dropout protection that was introduced in Studio One 3.5 reduce CPU load?  This is the dropout protection that is under Studio One>Options (Preferences on a Mac)>Audio Setup>Processing.

Answer 1

Basically, yes. While overall CPU load and likelihood of audio dropouts are significantly reduced, the total amount of data that needs to be processed is still the same. It’s just better distributed. So, while it’s possible to load more plug-ins and virtual instruments, the CPU and processing limits are still set by the available CPU performance, quality of drivers and audio I/O hardware used.

Answer 2

It is possible turning this on will cause more dropouts. On my typical sessions I normally leave this feature OFF as it causes significant dropout issues especially if you use VST instruments.

Often I can run a session easily with this feature OFF and then experience dropouts when I turn dropout protection ON.

I advise turning this on by default only when you're sure it works for you on your typical projects as it could potentially make things a lot worse for you.