Re:Pause, We Can Go Back
by aidenn0 on Sunday February 05, 2017 @07:32PM
(#13575633)
And a 24 bit ADC that quantizes the lower 16 bits into 4Vpp would be capable of registering signals at 512Vpp. No analog devices have such a large headroom (granted they don't build such a device, but if you attenuate the signal at the entrance to the ADC, you get something similar).
This, btw. is why nobody masters at 16 bits; the insufficient headroom. 16 bits is plenty for playback though.
[edit]
I do want to acknowledge the big weakness of a digital setup that you touch on here, which is the hard clipping. If you ever clip in digital, you have ruined the recording while many analog setups will have a soft rolloff (Tube amps v. BJT amps are similar; the soft clipping of a tube amp is much less unpleasant than the hard clipping of a BJT amp. You can "get away" with a lower wattage tube amp for this reason; a properly sized BJT amp is more accurate though). All this is moot for professional recordings though as a sound engineer who regularly clips by accident (rather than to intentionally get a particular sound) will get fired.
This, btw. is why nobody masters at 16 bits; the insufficient headroom. 16 bits is plenty for playback though.
[edit]
I do want to acknowledge the big weakness of a digital setup that you touch on here, which is the hard clipping. If you ever clip in digital, you have ruined the recording while many analog setups will have a soft rolloff (Tube amps v. BJT amps are similar; the soft clipping of a tube amp is much less unpleasant than the hard clipping of a BJT amp. You can "get away" with a lower wattage tube amp for this reason; a properly sized BJT amp is more accurate though). All this is moot for professional recordings though as a sound engineer who regularly clips by accident (rather than to intentionally get a particular sound) will get fired.