16 or 24-bit DAT?

[WalkingOllie]

Hi Jon X,

Yeah, that makes sense to me, too, but I had heard or read something to the contrary and want to make sure I have my facts straight before plunking down megabucks. And yes, the final product will be CDs for distribution.

[WalkingOllie]

Hi All,

I've pretty much decided to go with a DAT deck to mix down to, with an eye toward having a pro mastering house do the final mastering. Do you think it's imperative these days to have a 24-bit DAT or can I get by with 16-bit?

[Jon X]

Just my guess, but since CDs are only 16-bit, the mastering house will have to dither the 24-bit DAT down to 16-bit in order to create CDs anyway, so it shouldn't make that much of a difference. This sound right to everybody?

I'm assuming that your final product will be on CD. If not, then I have no idea.

[Dragon]

This is a heavy enough question I wouldn't touch it without enough experience, so why not ask your mastering guru? If you don't already have one, try the mastering page at http://homerecording.com/mastering.html