16 bit -> 32bit -> 16bit

  • Thread starter Thread starter bairradino
  • Start date Start date
B

bairradino

New member
Is there any advantage in transforming 16 bit recorded material to 32 bit, for mixing and mastering, and then re-transform again to 16 bit for recording?
 
I would say there might be an advantage be it a small one. The already recorded tracks will not magically be of a better quality by changing the resolution to 32 bit. But i think if you master it in 32 bit the effects you add might possibly make the overall sound a bit better than if mastering at 16bit. At the same time though you will use up maybe 2-3 times the amount of storage by converting up. Why not record in 32 bit 91kHz. Then you will get a better sound but your hard drive will hate you for it.
 
bairradino said:
Is there any advantage in transforming 16 bit recorded material to 32 bit, for mixing and mastering, and then re-transform again to 16 bit for recording?

IMHO, there's no real advantage to upsampling to 32bit unless you're gonna be doing any offline processing during mixing/mastering. ;)
 
There may be an advantage in that the cumulative effect of rounding errors as a result of digital operations & calculations will be smaller in a 32 bit number than a 16 bit number.

However the s/w may translate to 32 bit for internal calculations anyway, in which case there's no advantage
 
Yeah, most programs do their internal DSP at 32 bit float now days anyway.
Best thing to do would be to upgrade to a 24 bit card with quality converters, allowing for a greater dynamic range.
 
Thanks guys.
The material was recorded, two years ago, with a 16 bit sound card.
According your comments I'll convert the tracks to 32 bit before applying denoisers, Eq's and compressors.
 
Back
Top