[linux-audio-user] Linux music editor, greater than 32-bit ?

[david]

Folderol wrote:
> On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:48:04 -0600
> millward <millward at ms.umanitoba.ca> wrote:
> 
>> I've got a sound card capable of 96 bits, ( M-Audio audiofile 24/96 )
>> but my sound editor, Audacity for Linux, only goes up to 32 bits.
>> Is there a sound editor for Linux that can do higher than 32 bits?
> 
> Maybe I'm missing something here, but what on earth does anyone need
> such high resolution for?
> 
> ISTR The humble CD is recorded at 18bit. which is over 200,000:1 and
> more than 100dB. The orchestral dynamic range is I believe quoted at
> 90dB. I accept some extra headroom is nice, and the calculations aren't
> quite so simple, but even 32bit comes out at mind boggling 200dB.

I don't know about such things in the audio world, but in the world of 
color photography, most professional digital equipment uses 48-bit 
color. This is way outside the reproduction range of any photo 
printing/display technology. But even though a particular 48-bit color 
might not be printable or displayable, it is still there. It can be 
taken into consideration when doing color adjustments and image filters. 
The end result is that when color depth is reduced to the 24-bit color 
range that JPG uses - you get better and more accurate color reductions.

So I would think that working in higher bit-depths for audio would 
similarly result in better sounding audio when it's reduced to CD format.

-- 
David
gnome at hawaii.rr.com
authenticity, honesty, community