Topic: Best tool to dither 24b to 16b and downsamplig to 44.1?

[lordbelial]

Hi everyone.

Haven't used those tools ever. So I'm wondering what should I use to dither 24b to 16b and then resample 96 to 44.1

Any info will be appreciatted.

Thanks in advance!

[RebelRebel]

It is a personal preference thing completely. I use my DAW(Samplitude pro v10)'s POW-R dither and Triangular Spread Dither exclusively..but there are so many flavors and algorithms out there that it is hard to say with any certainty which one is best..what workstation do you use?

Wavelab has the UV22 thing i believe?

RB brain is a free plugin from Voxengo that will act as a standalone dither/resample application.

[Brian Skalinder]

Do you have a budget?  Mac or PC?  Defining both will help narrow down the options.  Do you need to do any editing, or simply sample rate conversion (SRC) and dither?

For a mostly freebie option, use Audacity (free) for editing, if any (exporting to 32bfp and same sample rate as the master recording), R8Brain Free for SRC and dither, and CD-Wave ($15) for tracking.

IMO, the best low-cost option - and having the best workflow and great quality processing, SRC, and dither - is Samplitude SE @ $50.  For example, in ABX testing, I couldn't hear a difference between SAM SE's SRC at it's highest quality setting and the very well regarded R8Brain Pro or Free.  But that perhaps reveals the limitations of my playback / ears, and not so much the SRC used by each app.  Note, however, that SAM SE has a steeper learning curve than most of the other apps.

For $$$, lots of options including Steinberg WaveLab, Adobe Audition, Sony Sound Forge, a handful of Mac apps, and I'm sure some other options about which I'm forgetting.

Lots of personal preference involved.  My favorite dither so far is MBIT+, which is built into the iZotope Ozone plugin (and perhaps a Mac editing tool or two).  But it costs a couple hundred bucks.  To keep my workflow simple and costs down (and sacrificing very little quality, if any), I stick with SAM SE for dithering.  Others prefer UV22HR dither available in WaveLab ($$$).  Still others prefer Sound Forge, at least a few Mac apps, and I'm sure some others I'm forgetting, as well.

Defining OS, budget, and your editing requirements will help narrow down the choices.

[bgalizio]

Good advice above. All I have to add is that you should resample, then dither.

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

iZotope Ozone is real nice IMO.

[ironbut]

I use Audiofile's Wave Editor which includes MBit+ and iZotope SRC. I really like both of them. I just wish I didn't have to down sample. To me, 24/48 sound way better than 16/44.1. There was a dither comparison file running around here (I think) somewhere. It was a blind test and I almost picked MBit+ on most of the samples.

[KLowe]

one word.

r8brain

Standalone and free and it does both in one easy step.

[RebelRebel]

I use Audiofile's Wave Editor which includes MBit+ and iZotope SRC. I really like both of them. I just wish I didn't have to down sample. To me, 24/48 sound way better than 16/44.1. There was a dither comparison file running around here (I think) somewhere. It was a blind test and I almost picked MBit+ on most of the samples.

http://src.infinitewave.ca/

[Brian Skalinder]

http://src.infinitewave.ca/

That's a good visual comparison of SRC with graphs, etc.

I think the dither comparison to which ironbut was referring:  http://www.24-96.net/dither/

And I also did a dither comparison of actual concert recordings.  Perhaps not as scientific or critical as the one above, but I wanted to see if I could hear the differences applied to actual concert recordings v. the methodology used above.

[RebelRebel]

http://src.infinitewave.ca/

That's a good visual comparison of SRC with graphs, etc.

I think the dither comparison to which ironbut was referring:  http://www.24-96.net/dither/

And I also did a dither comparison of actual concert recordings.  Perhaps not as scientific or critical as the one above, but I wanted to see if I could hear the differences applied to actual concert recordings v. the methodology used above.

Thanks Brian, I bookmarked the 24-96 site. Going to your comp now..

[Gordon]

iZotope Ozone is real nice IMO.

[kskreider]

Why even bother?     

[lordbelial]

Thaks to everyone who answered!

Well, I'm running on PC. I use to edit with Wavelab but the UV22/HR dither action crashes. 

I've tried r8brain and fits my needs. It's easy to use and free. Initially I did not had a budget so it fits my $$$ expectations.

Nice info on the comps and most of the solutions that popped up. I'll take a read asap.

Thank you guys.

Victor.