In article , Justin
Ulysses Morse wrote:
Arny Krueger wrote:
24 bits puts 16 extra levels between each pair of levels that exist
with 16 bits. Thus, the resolution is increased at any level, not just the
smallest one.
In article , (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:
Not really. It gives you more dynamic range, which is often wasted
anyway. 96 dB is an awful lot.
Scott's not arguing what you're arguing there, Jay. He's just
curmudgeoning about the fact nobody's going to use the available
dynamic range anyway. Which is a different discussion altogether.
I think he's saying both, but I'd have to let him speak for himself.
Arny's right on this one.
Unless I misunderstand him (certainly possible), I don't think so.
While it's true that the additional bits tack your extended resolution
onto "the bottom" of the dynamic range, it clearly increases the
resolution at all levels. You can have a -100dB component to a -1dB
signal, and you still want to hear it.
But that's exactly my point: only the -100 component is what you've
gained. The -1 component is not rendered any better than it was before.
The simplest way to think about this is to imagine a digital audio
recording that contained two simultaneous sounds: One a -1dBFS and the
other at -111dBFS. It should be clear that in a 16-bit recording, the
-111dBFS sound will be buried in the noise floor and will not be heard,
while in a 24-bit recording it will be above the theoretical noise
floor.
Right. That's what I said, isn't it? The noise floor goes down and you
can record smaller events; they don't necessarily have to be a
fundamental that is very low - it can be low level overtones making a
violin sound more real, or a little incidental sound, or the sound of
the hall and the natural reverb tail, but it's still the low level stuff
that you are gaining at the higher bit depth. It doesn't mean that the
whole recording has to stay below -96 dB. Have I not made this clear? I
guess not; or it was buried too deeply in the 16 bit noise floor...
Once again I present my favorite digital audio analogy, cash
denominations: Having some pennies in your pocket allows you to pay a
more precise amount even if you're spending thousands of dollars.
But the value of the dollars don't change when you add a few pennies.
The total value changes, but each dollar is still worth a dollar.
--
Jay Frigoletto
Mastersuite
Los Angeles
promastering.com