32 bit floating point

[toadman]

Does protools have 32bit floating point as an option to record? I haven't been able to find even a mention of it anywhere in their literature or in this forum.

[JFreak]

No.

Why would you want to record float-32bit audio files? All A/D converters produce int-24bit words, so it's best to record that. It saves hard drive space too, compared to float-32bit files.

[lwilliam]

Do you mean process audio using 32-bit floating point math? It does this by default. The recording file formats (as with all DAWs) are 24-bit or 16-bit, whichever you set.

Here's the reference:

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?...0&itemid=12687

[zobomix]

32 bit floating point is a term used for processing, not for files. So, I guess you simply meant 32-bit long files. A/D and D/A converters don't use floating point technology.

[Flosstein]

Does protools have 32bit floating point as an option to record? I haven't been able to find even a mention of it anywhere in their literature or in this forum.

i think they mean to record Like Cubase their audio files can be recorded at 32-bit flosting point.

[cfb25]

This site might be of interest for anyone interested in 32 bit floating point...

http://www.jamminpower.com/PDF/48-bit%20Audio.htm


its dense, but the crux of it is... 48 bit integer beats 32 bit floating point........ (48 bit integer is what pro-tools uses).....If you liked any of the digi white papers you'll like this...

[Shawn Simpson]

This site might be of interest for anyone interested in 32 bit floating point...

http://www.jamminpower.com/PDF/48-bit%20Audio.htm


its dense, but the crux of it is... 48 bit integer beats 32 bit floating point........ (48 bit integer is what pro-tools uses).....If you liked any of the digi white papers you'll like this...

HD uses 48 bit integer processing, but LE uses 32 bit floating point processing like all other CPU based DSP applications.

[lwilliam]

i think they mean to record Like Cubase their audio files can be recorded at 32-bit flosting point.

I did hear at one point that Cubase can record 32-bit files. I would question whether it's a "floating point" file. That doesn't make sense to me. Audio files simply store the raw PCM information in 24-bit numbers typically in a format generally called Endian (Big or Little). This is a hexadecimal number. The hex number in the file could then be converted to floating point or fixed point when the computer reads the file.

I guess the other DAW manufactures felt that increasing the sampling rate to 96K would provide more improvement than 8 more bits in the file - or maybe 96k was just easier to implement. I don't know of any standards for 32-bit file formats. It may be proprietary to Steinberg.

[JFreak]

Yep. And until A/D converters can top 144dB dynamics, there's no rush to store more bits. Dynamics-wise, current top-of-the-line converters are little better than 20bit signal (120dB dynamics).

All this nonsense because somebody at marketing has decided that some irrelevant spec needs to be touted 'cause competition is quiet about it and therefore "they" can show themselves more brilliant than the "others".

People need to learn to read spec. I'm tired about "mine is bigger than yours" touting. In the end of a day, everything a 24bit/44.1kHz signal can hold is a little bit more than a human ear will ever hear.

Mixing multiple signals is another story.

[jnash]

People need to learn to read spec. I'm tired about "mine is bigger than yours" touting. In the end of a day, everything a 24bit/44.1kHz signal can hold is a little bit more than a human ear will ever hear.

Hey, I certainly agree with you that there's a ton of marketing hype and misinformation out there, but have you ever listened to a 96k/24bit signal recorded and played back with good A/D/A ?

When I use my UA 2192 at 96k/24-bit, it simply sounds better. Digital theory certainly suggests that 44.1k/24-bit could be made to sound identical, but with this particular piece of gear at least... it simply doesn't. I'm sure you're right that there are plenty of people who buy gear without using their ears, but then again, there are plenty of well-respected industry professionals who use 96k, and I'm guessing ears are playing some role in those decisions...

James
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