[linux-audio-user] sample rate question

[Aaron Trumm]

It's a debate.  People have varying opinions.  One opinion is that getting
something recorded at a higher quality allows you to process more accurate
information as you mix, and so on and that school likes to record at high
sampling rates and keep it there until the last minute, and then very
carefully do conversions for cd product.

another school of thought says just record at 44.1 because it's going to be
there in the end anyway.

I think the balance has tipped in favor of the former model (recording at
higher resolutions and bit depths).  that's what I do.  and in the
commercial recording studios, people do that mostly (or record on analog and
then dub to really high res protools for mix down)

just a note, too, on the difference between sample rate and bit depth - very
basically, sample rate determines the highest frequency you can record (half
of the sample rate) and bit depth determines how much dynamic range
(loud/soft) you can record.  some people believe that bit depth is WAY more
important, and don't mind recording at 44.1 as long as the bit depth is high
(like 24 bit).  In theory this holds because half of 44.1 is 22khz and
that's higher than we can hear anyway.  contrary to some people's beliefs
(like mine long ago) higher sampling rates don't add any low end richness,
just high end accuracy.

I think it's wise to record at high sampling rates and bit depths.

-- Aaron

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "millward" <millward at ms.umanitoba.ca>
To: <linux-audio-user at music.columbia.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 6:54 PM
Subject: [linux-audio-user] sample rate question


I was wondering, since the CD sample rate is 44100, is there
any advantage to recording at a higher sample rate?
My sound card, an Audiophile 24/96, allows much higher
sample rates and my hard drive is big enough to store the
resulting files, I think, but what purpose would it serve when
in the end, an audio CD is only good for 44100 ?
I'd have to convert down just to be able to burn the final
product onto CD anyway.
There must be some advantage to recording at a sample rate
above 44100.  Could someone tell me what it is?