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Not really, seems to me that you are equating the resolution of a 0.25V change quantified from 2^22 to 2^21 as being equivalent to it being quantified between 2^14 to 2^13, and that definitely isn't so. I might be misunderstanding you, or it just might be a semantic difference, though.
Punch it into a calculator and work it out for yourself. A 24 bit system does indeed provide much greater resolution of amplitude, and it really cannot be any other way.
As you note, the steps are indeed a constant factor of 2--they have to be, otherwise the system wouldn't be linear! But there are more bits available to resolve each 6 dB step in amplitude in the 24 bit system, so the added resolution is available throughout the entire dynamic range....not just at the lower end!
It is important to note that the Meridian paper does not specifically claim, as far as I could tell, that dithered quantization provides strictly infinite resolution--what I saw was a statement that it provides "effectively infinite resolution".
Now the question becomes whether it is an audible difference or not--but it is certain that the increased resolution of 24 bit exists throughout the whole dynamic range.
Originally Posted by HFat /img/forum/go_quote.gif This would mean that 0.5 V would be represented by 2^14 and 2^22 respectively, that 0.25V would be represented by 2^13 and 2^21 respectively and so on. So the "steps" would have exactly the same "size" until the 16 bits are exhausted, around the microvolt range. Therefore, the added "resolution" of 24 bit would be below the noise floor in most cases. |
Not really, seems to me that you are equating the resolution of a 0.25V change quantified from 2^22 to 2^21 as being equivalent to it being quantified between 2^14 to 2^13, and that definitely isn't so. I might be misunderstanding you, or it just might be a semantic difference, though.
Punch it into a calculator and work it out for yourself. A 24 bit system does indeed provide much greater resolution of amplitude, and it really cannot be any other way.
As you note, the steps are indeed a constant factor of 2--they have to be, otherwise the system wouldn't be linear! But there are more bits available to resolve each 6 dB step in amplitude in the 24 bit system, so the added resolution is available throughout the entire dynamic range....not just at the lower end!
It is important to note that the Meridian paper does not specifically claim, as far as I could tell, that dithered quantization provides strictly infinite resolution--what I saw was a statement that it provides "effectively infinite resolution".
Now the question becomes whether it is an audible difference or not--but it is certain that the increased resolution of 24 bit exists throughout the whole dynamic range.