It is common that in an audio system, there are multiple data rates that need to be synchronized. For example, a sending device has its own crystal or clock, and a receiving device has another. Typical solutions introduce a lot of latency. According to various embodiments of the invention, a data management mechanism and technique are presented. The data management mechanism and technique pertains to managing media data such as those in an audio system, for example, managing the consumption of digital audio data in USB audio. The data management mechanism may include a dynamic buffer, which can be automatically controlled and adjusted to address issues (e.g., latency) in data consumption.