Mike--
You can analyze your 24 bit recordings exactly the same way. If the
peaks in the quietest background sounds in your sound files meet the
-55 dbFS reference, you can be more confident if they are 24 bit
recordings. Rob D.
At 7:23 PM -0700 5/8/09, Mike Wall wrote:
>Hi Rob,
>Thank you for the advice and guidelines. I'll fiddle around in the
>studio and also do some field/equipment experiments keeping this in
>mind.
>I want to make sure the gear is working at peak performance and that
>the operator is striving for peak performance!
>I always record at 44.1 kHz and 24-bit on this rig. Naturally, I end
>up at 16-bits on the end result since I'm not authoring for DVD, etc.
>Best,
>Mike
>
>--- On Fri, 5/8/09, Rob Danielson <<type%40uwm.edu>> wr=
ote:
>
>From: Rob Danielson <<type%40uwm.edu>>
>Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Recording Levels
>To:
><naturerecordists%40yahoogroups.com>=
m
>Date: Friday, May 8, 2009, 12:09 PM
>
>Mike--
>If you are curious about whether there's enough "saturation" in the
>quiet location digital recordings you care making with this setting,
>there a way to find out. Pick a file with a very quiet background,
>open it in your waveform editor, select a small portion that is only
>background sound and measure the peak level. If the saturation is at
>least -55 dB (based on typical 96db full scale displays) then the
>record level you are using should not produce any quantizing noise
>with a 16 bit recording. (To be clear, the peak for the background
>only needs to be -55 dB or a number of smaller value with a negative
>sign). The tolerance is greater for a 24 bit recording.
>
>Some people argue that some sounds become harsher when digitally
>amplified a great deal (opposed to gain boosts on the order of 10-20
>dB). How much gain one typically uses with one's field recordings
>might be something else to consider. To test this, play back some
>music on your speakers and set the level to a comfortable level. Play
>back some soft recordings and see how many dB you boost them in order
>to get a level you like. If its more than 24dB, you might consider
>increasing your sound file saturation in the field unless you often
>encounter loud transient peaks in the environments where you record.
>Rob D.
>
>At 10:45 AM -0700 5/8/09, Mike Wall wrote:
>>Guys,
>>Thanks for the discussion. This is very helpful.
>>When I set the gain around 56.7 dB and try to keep my paws off the
>>input controls I'm always questioning my noise floor. Frequently, in
>>quiet situations, my target sounds will only hit the -40 dBFS signal
>>level (the first LED).
>>Anyway, I'll stick with this 56.7 dB gain protocol and only deviate
>>for experimentation.
> >-Mike
>>
--
|