Which dither type to use

When to add dither is a subject of some confusion and even controversy. The simplest way to look at it is that you should always dither when going down in bit-depth. Bit-rate measures transmission speed for streaming. The higher the bit-rate, the better the quality, and the larger the file size.

Hopefully, this article has helped demystify dither for you. If it still seems a little intimidating, here are some simple guidelines to follow for when and how to dither:. Want more on mastering and limiters? Gets 6 tips for limiting during mastering here. Want to get more tips straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our newsletter here. Tags View All. Sample Rate and Bit Depth When audio is digitized by an analog to digital converter ADC —say, when you record into your interface—and it gets sent to your DAW, the analog audio signal from your microphone or DI is transformed into a series of ones and zeros that digitally represent your audio.

Dither to the Rescue The solution is to add dither when you save the file to a lower sampling rate. The Shape of Noise IDR also lets you choose between three different noise-shaping options for modifying either type of dither: Moderate, Normal and Ultra. Bit depth is a digital value determining the overall dynamic range available in a digital audio system. Each bit corresponds to 6 dB of dynamic range. Recording at bit gives you plenty of headroom to get above that noise floor and still stay very far away from clipping your converter.

In a bit recording, we have dB of dynamic range to work with. In a PCM digital audio system, the amplitude of the output signal is limited to one of a set of fixed values, determined by bit depth. This process is called quantization. When a signal is quantized without dither, quantization distortion occurs.

Much of the final audio we listen to, on a CD or otherwise, is bit resolution. So in the end, digital audio data is oftentimes reduced to 16 bits for distribution. You or typically a mastering engineer can discard the excess bits, or you can also round the excess bits to the nearest value. The correct dithering setting for your purposes will mostly depend on the dynamic range of your audio. This first category of dither offered by Logic Pro doesn't offer noise shaping and is best used on mixes with low dynamic ranges.

Primarily used for speech i. This gentle equalization works well for clarifying many vocal types. As for Logic Pro's third dithering option, POW-r 3 dithering noise shaping works best for highly dynamic mixes, such as acoustic, orchestral, or big band music. Generally speaking, the noise shaping offered by different types of dither clamp down on the signal's lower frequency content 2kHz area and amplifies its higher frequencies.

If you're downsampling your audio from a higher bit depth to a lower one i. Always use dither when exporting, bouncing, or mastering your audio.

Put another way, use dither when lowering the bit depth of your track. In fact, the mastering process is often the best juncture to use dithering, as it will conceal any unwanted quantization distortion before lowering the audio's bit depth.

This way, your track will be ready for playback on a variety of platforms and devices. A: If you dither your audio properly, you won't hear the low level noise at all, especially in context.

Of course, it's possible to hear dither if you were to apply it to a silent audio files and boost the volume significantly. Dither will sound like some variation of white noise a soft, consistent, hiss. A: Unless you have a well-trained ear or are listening to a highly dynamic piece of music on high-quality speakers, you won't likely notice any difference between bit and bit audio. White, brown, and pink noise can all be useful for dithering. These are all variations of that "hissing" sound you might recognize from tuning a radio.

White noise is spread out across the frequency spectrum, brown noise is on the lower end, and pink noise falls somewhere in between. Blue noise dithering is beneficial for maintaining an image's fidelity when lowering its resolution at significantly low sample rates.

Proceedings of the IEEE has a comprehensive study on this phenomenon here. Yes, especially if your song features a high dynamic range. Dithering your audio properly when reducing its bit depth will reduce quantization distortion while maintaining or enhancing its dynamics. Because Soundcloud plays tracks at bits and 48 kHz , it's usually wise to dither your track before uploading it there.

Note that Soundcloud optimizes all audio for streaming and also offers an algorithmic mastering tool to users. Am I really saying that adding some very low level noise to the signal before reducing the bit-depth will mathe-magically fix this? You bet I am! I really want you to let these facts sink in, especially that last one.

That said, a consistent, evenly distributed bit of very quiet noise is sonically preferable to harmonic distortion tied to both level and frequency. At bit depths of 8 or 16 bits, this can make an appreciable difference. Still, it will remove quantization distortion which, due to its tonal nature, has a much higher chance of being audible.

As such, a flat, TPDF-type dither is really fine. Different audio workstations operate in different ways, but most offer some method to commit a complex audio effects chain to a file. Hopefully this helps you understand why dither is so crucial to digital audio, how and why it works, and when it should be applied. It will always do more good than harm. If your interest has been piqued and you want to dive even further into the topic, we have a full guide available here. This audio restoration software is great for mastering, too!

Learn the basics of digital audio and how a computer handles sound, from audio sample rate to bit depth. Get top stories of the week and special discount offers right in your inbox.

You can unsubscribe at any time. Get the highest quality sound every time. Music Production Suite Pro. Try for Free. Explore the future of mastering:. Ozone 9.