Subject:!6 Bit Audio vs. 24 Bit Audio

Posted by: MusicBear

Date:11/28/2000 7:34:00 PM

Please forgive my ignorance in asking this question, it is
rather hypothetical, but I would like to have an informed
answer before I go ahead and try it myself!

If I save my work, as a .wav file in 16 bit audio, my
computer playes it back excellently, if I save in 24 bit
audio, it will not play back. I realize my computer is not
equipped to play back 24 bit audio.

Now, my hypothtical question; If I save my files in 24 bit
audio, realizing they will not play back on my computer,
can I stil burn them to CD, and will they play back on my
stereo system? in 24 bit audio?

Also, is the difference between 16 bit and 24 bit audio
really all that different?

Thanks for any replies, and again, I apoligize for my
ignorance in this. I know there are many very educated and
well informed audiophiles who read this group, and I know
someone out there can help to enlighten me! :)

Thanks!

Subject:Re: !6 Bit Audio vs. 24 Bit Audio

Reply by: bgc

Date:11/29/2000 12:12:00 PM

Ray,
The CD format is only designed to store and play 16 bit audio.
You're really not getting any benefit by storing them 24-bit.
The difference between 24 bit is dynamic range (the difference
between the quietest sound and the loudest). By having 8 more bits
you're greatly extending your dynamic range. You can also think of
more bits as giving more resolution as the computer samples real
audio. There is a big difference if you're at the professional level.
The ability to work with and save 24-bit files has to do with the
processing that goes on before you create a CD from your work and
that's a longer more complicated process.
Brett

Ray MusicBear Baker wrote:
>>Please forgive my ignorance in asking this question, it is
>>rather hypothetical, but I would like to have an informed
>>answer before I go ahead and try it myself!
>>
>>If I save my work, as a .wav file in 16 bit audio, my
>>computer playes it back excellently, if I save in 24 bit
>>audio, it will not play back. I realize my computer is not
>>equipped to play back 24 bit audio.
>>
>>Now, my hypothtical question; If I save my files in 24 bit
>>audio, realizing they will not play back on my computer,
>>can I stil burn them to CD, and will they play back on my
>>stereo system? in 24 bit audio?
>>
>>Also, is the difference between 16 bit and 24 bit audio
>>really all that different?
>>
>>Thanks for any replies, and again, I apoligize for my
>>ignorance in this. I know there are many very educated and
>>well informed audiophiles who read this group, and I know
>>someone out there can help to enlighten me! :)
>>
>>Thanks!

Subject:Re: !6 Bit Audio vs. 24 Bit Audio

Reply by: MusicBear

Date:11/29/2000 7:02:00 PM

Hi Brett,

Thanks for your reply, see, I learned something...

One more question, I would assume it is more beneficial to save
my .wav files at 48,000 Hz, 16 bit Stereo as opposed to 44,100 Hz 16
bit Stereo; is this correct?

Will I notice improved sound quality?

Subject:Re: !6 Bit Audio vs. 24 Bit Audio

Reply by:

Date:12/5/2000 6:07:00 PM

Hi Ray,

Whether you should save at 44.1KHz or 48KHz is a matter of what you intend to do with the audio. If
you are using it to create audio CDs you are better off using 44.1KHz 16-bit, because that is the native
format of CD audio. 48KHz is used in video, for example, DVD's, which use it as a standard audio
sample rate.

If you save the audio at a different rate than the format you will eventually use it on accepts, then you
will have resample it before using it. The ratio of 48000 to 44100 is
1.0884353741496598639455782312925, which is a very ugly number to force your computer to
divide/multiply with, and should be avoided if reasonably possible, since it will undoubtedly cause at
least some (albeit really minor) rounding errors in your audio. Personally, I've usually just found it to
be annoying to have to run the resample, and haven't had quality problems.

It is unlikely that the extra frequency range porivded by 48KHz will be noticable. Based on the
"Nyquist Limit" (see below for quick explanation), A 48KHz file can throrectially have a reproducable
frequency range of up to 24,000Hz, while a 44100Hz file is limited at 22,050Hz. But, both of these
numbers exceed the believed range of human hearing, which is 30 to 20,000 Hertz. So it is very
unlikely you will find any audio benefit from using 48KHz over 44.1KHz.

Hex,
www.thefreeside.com

Nyquist Limit - The highest frequency that can be adequately sampled and reproduced, equivalent to
one half the frequency of the samples themselves .

Ray MusicBear Baker wrote:
>>Hi Brett,
>>
>>Thanks for your reply, see, I learned something...
>>
>>One more question, I would assume it is more beneficial to save
>>my .wav files at 48,000 Hz, 16 bit Stereo as opposed to 44,100 Hz 16
>>bit Stereo; is this correct?
>>
>>Will I notice improved sound quality?
>>