Bit-depth of Sonar's engine

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DM1

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Does anyone know if Sonar 4 PE handles 16 bit projects with a higher resolution internally?

I'm sure it must, but I can't find a reference to say for sure. After reading this discussion about 24-bit vs. 16-bit audio, it occured to me that, depending on how Sonar handles data internally, working with 16-bit wavs at low levels could cause a loss of audio resolution. If everything in the internal signal chain is 16-bit, then sending audio to a bus at -24dB would (crudely) mean you're working with only 12-bits.

Maybe another way to word my question: All other things being equal, does it make sense to mix tracks in a 16-bit project as loud as possible, to preserve resolution? Or does Sonar internally keep the 16-bit data in a higher-bit word, making this moot?
 
Not sure I am completely tracking what you are asking. To my knowledge, Sonar 4 internally processes at 32-bit floating point. However, after processing, the data is output and stored at whatever bit rate you have selected for your project (16 or 24).
 
that is my understanding as well. in Sonar5, you can choose 64-bit internal processing.
 
DM1 said:
Does anyone know if Sonar 4 PE handles 16 bit projects with a higher resolution internally?

I'm sure it must, but I can't find a reference to say for sure. After reading this discussion about 24-bit vs. 16-bit audio, it occured to me that, depending on how Sonar handles data internally, working with 16-bit wavs at low levels could cause a loss of audio resolution. If everything in the internal signal chain is 16-bit, then sending audio to a bus at -24dB would (crudely) mean you're working with only 12-bits.

Maybe another way to word my question: All other things being equal, does it make sense to mix tracks in a 16-bit project as loud as possible, to preserve resolution? Or does Sonar internally keep the 16-bit data in a higher-bit word, making this moot?
Click to expand...

That was an intersting link you posted man. I'm a dummy and have a hangover, but it seems common sense that the digital representation of what is done via analog, would as well require a generous amount of sample to aply reflect the best grab at the dynamics in the stepped digital mode of a tone enevelope, same as levels of tape saturation in analog. Am I thinking right
 
Toki987 said:
That was an intersting link you posted man. I'm a dummy and have a hangover, but it seems common sense that the digital representation of what is done via analog, would as well require a generous amount of sample to aply reflect the best grab at the dynamics in the stepped digital mode of a tone enevelope, same as levels of tape saturation in analog. Am I thinking right
Click to expand...
Now you've given me a hangover. :D :D
 
dachay2tnr said:
Not sure I am completely tracking what you are asking. To my knowledge, Sonar 4 internally processes at 32-bit floating point. However, after processing, the data is output and stored at whatever bit rate you have selected for your project (16 or 24).
Click to expand...
My main concern was that working with audio at a low level would somehow be equivalent to having tracked it initially at a low level. In a 16-bit project, even with a perfectly clean signal chain, audio tracked to peak at -24dB is essentially using only 12 bits. I was concerned that working at this level within Sonar, even when the audio is tracked louder, would have the same effect. That is, even if I tracked it to peak near the top, doing all my mixing at, say, -30dB would somehow hurt the resolution.

I knew it didn't make sense, but couldn't find a reference to say for sure. What I ended up doing was a simple experiment: record something with hot levels but reduce the gain on the track by 60dB, and record the same thing 60 dB quieter on a second track. Run both through a series of busses with the gain boosted to bring the level back up to 0dB. The first recording sounded identical. The second was mostly just hiss. (If my concern was valid, they both would have been hiss.)


Toki987 said:
but it seems common sense that the digital representation of what is done via analog, would as well require a generous amount of sample to aply reflect the best grab at the dynamics in the stepped digital mode of a tone enevelope, same as levels of tape saturation in analog. Am I thinking right
Click to expand...
Ya, I think so (except for maybe the "common sense" bit .. That stuff's apparantly not so common.) The more bits you use, the more finely you can represent changes in level.
 
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