24 bit vs. 16 bit recording

[Farview]

I think some things have been oversimplified. Converters these days are generally the oversampling type. An 8x 44.1kHz oversampling converter runs at 352.8kHz. Its Nyquist frequency is 176.4kHz, which is as high as the analog filters have to go. That means they can be much shallower than filters that have to take out everything from 22.05kHz and up. Any further filtering can be done in the digital domain to get it down to 22.05kHz. That avoids some of the phase shift caused by steep analog filters.

Yes, we have been simplifying things in an effort to explain. Also, the way digital sampling theoretically works and the way it practically works are slightly different.

 

[Steve Henningsgard]

I, for one, appreciate the simplification. It helped me identify the basis of my overall misunderstanding (word length). I won't be teaching anyone this stuff any time soon, but I do have a significantly better understanding than I'd had.