sonicguy Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 I noticed in the Audio Preferences window for Logic Pro there is a box to check in order to record at 24 bits. Is that the highest bit rate that is supported in this software? I'd prefer to record at 32 bits. Is this possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordi Torres Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Is this possible? No. Do you really need that many bits? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 24-bits isn't a rate, it's a depth (bit-depth). Sampling rate is where you talk about rates (44.1, 48, etc.) No one needs higher than 24 bits to record, really. The dynamic range of 24-bit recordings is so vast to begin with. Just curious, what are you recording that you need more dynamic range (and thus more bits to accommodate)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicguy Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 So my options are 16 and 24 bits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicguy Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 24 bits is plenty, like Ski says. Try recording at 88.2k sample rate, see if you like that. Files will be twice as large than 44.1k, which is CD quality sample rate. And CDs are also at 16 bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
involver Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 The Apogee converters you are using are only 24bit anyway. I'm not aware of any 32bit A/D or D/A. The dynamic range of 24 bit is 144db which is plenty, particularly when working on modern hyper-compressed music styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Nahmani Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Your Apogee converters have a dynamic range of 120 dB. That means at the most you're only using 21 of the 24 bits. A bit depth higher than 24 bits would be a waste of resources and, as far as I know, is never used in music production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jope Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Your Apogee converters have a dynamic range of 120 dB. That means at the most you're only using 21 of the 24 bits. This is precisely the point - The analog part in the signal chain, including the analog side of the ADCs, is limited in its dynamic range for many reasons. Every additional bit means doubled sensitivity, but from a certain point there is more noise than useful signal, and all this and possible truncation artifacts is way under your (or anyone's) threshold of hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beej Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 24-bits is ample and sufficient for recording. Simples! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdoubleyou Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 So my options are 16 and 24 bits. Also Check around, for 32bit hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Mayfield Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Trying to get a higher quality recording by using greater bit depth and sampling rate... ...when you have untreated recording spaces, unpolished performances, and low quality mics & preamps... ...is like triple bolt-locking and steel-reinforcing your front door against thieves... ...when you've left your back door and all your windows wide open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonicguy Posted February 11, 2011 Author Share Posted February 11, 2011 I appreciate what you all are saying. Great points, really. I guess Cubase is maybe the only DAW that's pushing the envelop in this regard. And I understand it's a 32 bit floating point of sorts. But I'm not a gear expert. I honestly thought everyone was heading in this direction. My mistake. At some point there will be a movement to greater bit depths. But maybe that will just be a gimmick to sell new gear and won't help make better recordings. Matt makes a great point about a first having a good environment for recording, great performance, etc... We all listen to and love old recordings made on what would be considered substandard gear by modern measure. It's the performances that drive these old recordings. We all now have home studios that would have cost hundreds of thousands in the old days. And for the most part we use this gift to produce garbage. (or just as laboratories to analyze and formulate arguments for or against hardware/ software/ techniques) I subscribe to this philosophy of keeping it simple, really. You're all doing a great job keeping me on that path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beej Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 And I understand it's a 32 bit floating point of sorts. Virtually *all* DAWs are 32float systems. That doesn't mean *recording* audio at 32-bit fixed point is beneficial in any way. It's pointless (imo) - but a 32f mixer needs that implementation to give headroom and room for processing audio. There are a few systems that will record to 32-bit files. And I see that of the few people using it, 90% of them just do it because they think that "32 is better than 24, so I'll do that", reducing their track counts and processor performance accordingly. The remaining few might have a good reason and have the technical and engineering chops to understand what and why they are doing it. But I don't think there are many. But I'm not a gear expert. I honestly thought everyone was heading in this direction. My mistake. At some point there will be a movement to greater bit depths. Once you understand the technical engineery side a bit better, you'll realise that bigger numbers don't always automatically mean better. It's a bit like spending an extra three hundred grand to get a car that will do 600mph. It's an interesting technical exercise, but pointless and impractical for 99.9% of practicality. But maybe that will just be a gimmick to sell new gear and won't help make better recordings. Marketing people like bigger numbers. It helps sell things, I guess. :shrugs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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