I am apt-get installing Ardour, a sound mixing program, just to try it out. Installing Ardour also installs JACK, a dependency. As part of the JACK installation script, I get the following dialog:

If you want to run jackd with realtime priorities, the user starting jackd needs realtime permissions. Accept this option to create the file /etc/security/limits.d/audio.conf, granting realtime priority and memlock privileges to the audio group.

Running jackd with realtime priority minimizes latency, but may lead to complete system lock-ups by requesting all the available physical system memory, which is unacceptable in multi-user environments.

Enable realtime process priority?

I'm installing on my laptop, which never has multiple simultaneous users. I still have concerns: is JACK something that'll be used by the system itself to play any sound (i.e. will it replace ALSA)? If so, does that mean that if I enable realtime priority for JACK, I'll run a slight risk of freezing the machine whenever any sound is played? Or is JACK only going to be used by Ardour for now (until I install some other JACK-dependent program)?

Thanks,

-- Matt