<<There is definitely advantage to post-processing in 24bit, but not
always an advantage to capturing in 24bit. It's easy enough to change
a file 16bit -> 24bit in most editors and get the same advantages.>>
While it's true there are very few circumstances in the real world
which provide even a full 16 bit dynamic range I'm not sure adding 8
extra empty bits at the bottom of the word for greater post processing
resolution actually accomplishes anything. Current DAWs do their
internal math at 32 bit floating point (or 48 bit fixed point in
ProTools) so the extra empty bits are already being added within the
DAW. When there is actual audio contained in the lowest 8 bits there
will be an advantage when the numbers are rounded during any internal
DAW processing, but I don't see how simply adding zeroes provides that
same resolution benefit. Even though physics limits the maximum signal
to noise ratio possible within any analog circuit preceding or
following the AD-DA conversion to about the equivalent of 21 bits, I
think I'd rather have the least significant 8 bits contain noise,
since the ear/brain is capable of hearing coherent audio at a lower
level than the uncorrelated noise.
Scott Fraser
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