Lautonomie

Lautonomie is a term used in some discussions of sound, music technology and media studies to denote the degree of independence a sound source or subsystem maintains within a larger audio system. There is no single, widely accepted definition, and its exact meaning varies by field and author. In practice, lautonomie is often invoked to describe how effectively a source can be treated in isolation from others, both in recording and in playback.

In audio production, high lautonomie implies strong source separation: a track can be processed, equalized, or spatially positioned without introducing unintended changes to other sources. Achieving high lautonomie typically involves techniques such as separate multitrack recording, careful microphone placement, acoustic treatment, and proper routing and gain staging. Psychoacoustic considerations and subjective listening tests are sometimes used to assess perceived lautonomie.

In signal processing and systems design, lautonomie may refer to the independence of a module or channel within a larger chain. For example, channel isolation in a mixer, or decoupling between stages in a signal path, increases lautonomie by reducing crosstalk and unwanted coupling. The term remains informal and is mainly found in practical discussions about audio engineering, modular systems, and interface design rather than in formal standards.

See also: Autonomy, Source separation, Channel isolation, Audio engineering.