Dithering from 32 Float to 24 Bit

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by gandlz

No dither when bitrate is not changed makes also sense to me. That’s why it sounds strange to me as they dither 32bit export to 32bit.
But your idea about it makes sense. In the end you can only play through a 24bit DAC so dither would be needed.

I just got confused by the long processing time when exporting 32bit files. So I now go the session folder and just copy the desired file.
Also I usually bounce my masters to a new track and have dither plugin at the last insert, so I can choose the one I like and also check for levels or inner sample peaks while bouncing. After this I also have to copy the final master from the session folder because otherwise additional dither would be applied in every case (exporting to 32, 24 or 16bit). So I also have to use additional software to make my 16bit CD-Files.

The question about “What dither (16, 18, 20bit) is used…” is because Avid dither plugin does not offer 24bit dither. So I think it would be really stupid to apply 16bit dither when exporting to 32 or 24bit.

It won't, that would be too braindead.

Your workflow sounds great, just try not make sure dither is not applied twice (including by any external mastering software).

For everything else I'd work at 32-bit float (or 24 bit fixed if needed) and just not bother with dithering. It's buried in the noise floor for all practical purposes, and even more so if you are working at higher sample rates like 96kHz.

I can maybe imagine reasons why somebody might sometimes want to dither/noise shape a 32-bit float, but I can't imagine why somebody wants to *always* do that on a 32-bit file format where it's likely to be reused by a DAW. That float to float dither comment in the manual has long bugged me. It is not hard to write some utilities to write and dump data from AIFF or WAV to play and see what is going on, but just don't have time to play with this now.

[Bob Olhsson]

The "not dithering twice" argument often confuses people about what dither does.

Dither PREVENTS distortion when writing back to a file after signal processing. We are always choosing BETWEEN dither and distortion. The ONLY time to not dither is when absolutely no change of any kind is being made to the audio. Even a .01 dB. level change requires dither to prevent the even more audible crunchy distortion that digital is famous for.

[daeron80]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You are trying to make some valid points but being let down by multiple inaccuracies.

Good points. I posted that over four years ago, and I don't remember what I was thinking then. Thanks for the corrections.

[gandlz]

just want to say thanks for talking about and all the information!