"dkein" wrote in
ogers.com:

Then I consider my recording
situations (live concerts in bars/clubs) and the fact that the levels
at which the quantization error occur are far below the ambient noise.
Does that mean it doesn't matter?

Both Mike and Arny said it, but they added more stuff so I'll emphasize the
point.

As long as you're recording full scale, the truncation error will almost
certainly be inaudible. Given the noise level of your environment, the
only time the recording will get quiet enough to hear the distortion will
be on fade outs.

Having said that, may I also add that adding dither before truncating is
just about free, and in those rare moments of quiet, it really makes a
difference.