To dither or not to dither that is the? Waves IDR?

[bryanbassett]

My sessions go from 24/48 001 ..mixed to 16bit/44.1 stereo interleave
and then into Soundforge 5.0 where i use Waves Ultramaximizer DirectX (can't use it in 001)to get my tracks leveled out volume wise. L1 has IDR dithering options...my question..
Should I use any of the dithering options?
Hasn't 001 already dithered when I converted to 16 bit?
Do I need to use IDR again after using plugins on my 16bit stereo master?
Should I leave the mixes 24bit and use Waves IDR at the end?
Am I an idiot ..I can't figure this out...ok don't answer that one [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]
thanks everyone.

[bryanbassett]

oops sorry about the double post..got a little impatient with my 32000 connection.
Bryan

[IOP Drummer]

Dither is the LAST thing you do in a mix. Therefore, it sounds like you shouldn't be dithering in PT at all, and bouncing to a 24 bit file. SoundForge 5 will use 24 bit files, so you shouldn't have a problem. Dither in soundforge with the ultramaximizer

[bryanbassett]

Thanks Mike
that's what I was thinking..I've been using 16bit systems up until I got the 001 so I was in the habit of dithering at the end with L1 but it hit me that 001 was already dithering the file when i converted to 16bit so i was a little concerned about adding extra noise to the mix. So leave it 24 bit till the end is the way to go and use IDR to dither at the end. IS there any sonic differences between 001 doing the conversion and waves doing it?
Thanks BB

[da BaSsTaRd!]

there's a pretty cool thread going on in the mac forum about bouncing to a standalone cd recorder. the results are supposedly much better than any bounce to disk...
http://duc.digidesign.com/cgi-bin/ub...&f=24&t=008381

[zboy2854]

Just curious, why can't you use L1 or any of the other Waves plugs in Pro Tools? You can download the RTAS shell for Waves at the Waves website which allows you to use your Waves DX plugs in Pro Tools.

[Paul Curtiz]

...plus, I believe the L1 (which should be the last element in your signal path) has the dither option. Ever since I've got the waves plugs I use Soundforge less and less, as it is simply not necessary.

The Waves plugs should really work in PT AND Soundforge so you might have a problem there.

Cheers,

[tld]

The IDR dither in the L1 is really good. I was using the UV22 in my AD8000 for my 16 bit conversion, and started occasionally trying the L1 IDR, mostly because it was easier than routing through hardware. I was surprized to find that I liked it at least as much.

And as others have said, if at all possible, the 16 bit dither should be the last thing that happens. The advantage of a 24 bit daw is so you don't end up doing math on 16 bit audio.

Another suggestion that I think others will agree with: If your going to 16/44.1 you're probably better off recording at 24/44.1 rather than 24/48. In all likelyhood, the quality you loose, even with a very good SR conversion, will more than offset the benefits of the higher sample rate. If however you're dumping to tape or whatever (where you're not doing any SR conversion) you could benefit from the higher sample rate.

Tom

[bryanbassett]

Thanks for the replies everyone:
zboy2854..thanks I didn't know about the rtas shell

Paul: i agree..I can see myself not having to go to soundforge when I get waves up in 001.
tld...Interesting..I'll run a few sessions at 24/44.1 and check out the difference

I guess what intially threw me was L1 coming up with IDR enabled from the preset. Would I assume that I should select NONE in the IDR catecories while using L1 before my final dither? And if I'm using L1 across my stereo mix bus of 001 and converting from 24/48 to 16/44.1 on my bounce to disk should I deselect the IDR options as well to avoid both IDR and 001 acting upon the stereo file?
One more...if I'm using L1 to gain up some 16bit mixes to level match should I redither or is dither basically for the initial downsample. thanks
Bryan