AudioBear
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2007
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@bosiemoncrieff
Great post! =
"32 bits?! Even 24 bits are a pointless waste of time. Bit depth is NOT bit rate (resolution, detail retrieval); it is noise floor, lack of quantization noise. At 32 bits, the signal-to-noise ratio is 192 decibels, meaning that you must listen to your music at 192 decibels above your ambient environment or the ambient noise (refrigerator, traffic, kids, your dac and amp) would mask the quantization noise (which is why 16 bit is fine in real life).
What is 192 decibels? Well deafness occurs at 180 db, so even if you listened to your 32-bit recordings in an anechoic chamber, if you heard their full dynamic range, you're not listening to them now. If you're listening in a university library, at a quiet 30 decibels, even a Saturn V at launch can't quite give you 192 true decibels of dynamic range to overcome the noise floor, though its 200-odd decibels would certainly kill you.
32 bits are bullschiit. 24 bits are bullschiit. Buy an Yggy and call it a day. But be safe out there: sound over 85 decibels can lead to hearing loss."
Can we add to that the effective number of bits of 24 and 32 bit systems is seldom more than 18-19 bits? I wish I could find the reference for that beyond this on the Schiit Yggdrasil FAQ (http://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil):
"But the Arglebargle has like twelve 32-bit DACs in it! Yours only has 21 bits! Hell, that’s not a full 24 bits even! What about my 24-bit recordings?
If your 24 bit recordings actually have 24 bits of resolution, we’ll eat a hat. And those "32-bit" DACs? Well, they have this measurement known as “equivalent number of bits.” This means, in English, how many bits of resolution they really have. And that number, for most of them, is about 19.5. And 21 is better than 19.5, in all the math books we know."
It's not uncommon for people who don't know jack schiit about a topic to think larger numbers make it better. You may also enjoy:
Great post! =
"32 bits?! Even 24 bits are a pointless waste of time. Bit depth is NOT bit rate (resolution, detail retrieval); it is noise floor, lack of quantization noise. At 32 bits, the signal-to-noise ratio is 192 decibels, meaning that you must listen to your music at 192 decibels above your ambient environment or the ambient noise (refrigerator, traffic, kids, your dac and amp) would mask the quantization noise (which is why 16 bit is fine in real life).
What is 192 decibels? Well deafness occurs at 180 db, so even if you listened to your 32-bit recordings in an anechoic chamber, if you heard their full dynamic range, you're not listening to them now. If you're listening in a university library, at a quiet 30 decibels, even a Saturn V at launch can't quite give you 192 true decibels of dynamic range to overcome the noise floor, though its 200-odd decibels would certainly kill you.
32 bits are bullschiit. 24 bits are bullschiit. Buy an Yggy and call it a day. But be safe out there: sound over 85 decibels can lead to hearing loss."
Can we add to that the effective number of bits of 24 and 32 bit systems is seldom more than 18-19 bits? I wish I could find the reference for that beyond this on the Schiit Yggdrasil FAQ (http://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil):
"But the Arglebargle has like twelve 32-bit DACs in it! Yours only has 21 bits! Hell, that’s not a full 24 bits even! What about my 24-bit recordings?
If your 24 bit recordings actually have 24 bits of resolution, we’ll eat a hat. And those "32-bit" DACs? Well, they have this measurement known as “equivalent number of bits.” This means, in English, how many bits of resolution they really have. And that number, for most of them, is about 19.5. And 21 is better than 19.5, in all the math books we know."
It's not uncommon for people who don't know jack schiit about a topic to think larger numbers make it better. You may also enjoy:
(edit: kidding of course, only dick with them in a friendly way)
