germanium
Headphoneus Supremus
So far all the free or oem supplied software I tried has 24 bit audio containers but only 16 bit internal code. This is very audible if you record at very very low levels then boost back up to low but audible levels. This low level distortion can make the resulting sound mildly grainy in worst case scenerio.
In true 24 bit recording the sound should be able to go super soft without audible distortion. Most analog sections have enough noise to dither the input of a true 24 bit ADC so the resulting file should have clean audio well into the noise floor just like properly dithered 16 bit but with a much lower noise floor. This is why the early CD transfers done from analog tape sounded so much better than the early digital ones. The tape noise served to dither the converters both at the recording end & at the playback end.
Even though Sonar LE outputs a 24 bit file it contains a dithered 16 bit file not the full 24 bit file. It is clear to me from my testing & I also found the setting for this in Sonar LE. It would not let me change that setting to 24bit as there was no 24 bit option there & it would not let me turn off the dither.
This setting is different from the one in the audio options. It is found under tools/change audio format. In litening to my test recording it is very obvious that it is only outputing the files at this settings resolution. So I still long for the true 24 bit recordings that my Xonar essence STX card is capable of.
In true 24 bit recording the sound should be able to go super soft without audible distortion. Most analog sections have enough noise to dither the input of a true 24 bit ADC so the resulting file should have clean audio well into the noise floor just like properly dithered 16 bit but with a much lower noise floor. This is why the early CD transfers done from analog tape sounded so much better than the early digital ones. The tape noise served to dither the converters both at the recording end & at the playback end.
Even though Sonar LE outputs a 24 bit file it contains a dithered 16 bit file not the full 24 bit file. It is clear to me from my testing & I also found the setting for this in Sonar LE. It would not let me change that setting to 24bit as there was no 24 bit option there & it would not let me turn off the dither.
This setting is different from the one in the audio options. It is found under tools/change audio format. In litening to my test recording it is very obvious that it is only outputing the files at this settings resolution. So I still long for the true 24 bit recordings that my Xonar essence STX card is capable of.