Getting from 24 to 16

K

KingstonRock

PC load letter?
What is the best way to get from 24 to 16 bits? I have sonar 1.0XL and I currently select all and click export to 16-bit, but I have heard a mixdown like that is not the best way. I have a Motu 24i and an Allen and Heath Mixwizard 16:2DX, what are my other options for mixing down to 16bits. I have heard of dithering and while exploring the cubase demo I have noticed it includes Apogee's dithering technology, is this what I'm looking for? Is there any alternative in the Directx/Cakewalk world, or even another program entirely?

Eric
 
You do have different options for mixing down but that is different than converting your master file from 24bit to 16bit. You should always mixdown to 24 and save that as your master mixdown. Only convert to 16bit when you are ready to put that file on CD.

Many programs will convert the file and if you can use dithering it will give you a better dynamic range than a standard 16bit file. With many programs you need to buy a dithering plug in. I'm not sure what the case is with Sonar.

There have been a few discussions lately about using mixers with a DAW during mixdown. Try a search on mixdown over the last few months and see what comes up. If you have any specific questions I'll be glad to help. Basically you would run all your tracks out of the motu and into the heath. You then record the master buss as your final mixdown file.
 
Tex is right. Always keep your mixdown file 24 bit. then do any "mastering" steps while it is still 24 bit. The very LAST thing to do is to dither down a COPY of it to 16 bit. Then save the 24 bit version in case you ever need to go back and change something. I use SoundForge 5.0 for that final 16 bit step. It seems to work pretty well.
 
I understand that you should master in 24 bits, but once all of that is complete, do you run a dither plugin like waves IDR or the apogee one as the last effect and then just export to 16 bits? I already record in 44.1 khz so that doesnt matter so much.

P.S. I have Sonar's dither function enabled for both playback and recording under audio options, im not sure if this is applied to the audio or if turning it off now will eliminate it from my recordings, but should this be on or off when using a third party dither plugin?
 
If you do not wish to invest in other software, then you can use Sonar to dither to 16 bits. However, it does not have the best dithering algorithm (but it's still better than just truncating).

Two of the best dithering algorithms - both by general consensus and IMHO - are the Waves IDR and the Apogee UV22. The Waves IDR (which is part of the L1 Ultramaximizer) can be used as a plug-in in Sonar. The Apogee is supplied with Wavelab 4 (but might also be available as a stand alone plug-in).

Wavelab (again IMHO) is a great addition to Sonar. I personally use both. I do my recording and mixing in Sonar, and then I use Wavelab to master, dither to 16 bits, and burn to CD. Wavelab is also great as a wave editor to use within Sonar. However, it don't come cheap. Figure around $400.

To answer your last question, if you use a third party dithering program - either within Sonar, or within some external mastering software - you should turn off dithering in Sonar. You only want to dither and drop the bit rate once - right before you burn to CD.
 
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