Would the audio dithering setting still be applied even if when realtime online playback?

From what I understand the ONLY time you should apply dithering is if you are bouncing/mixing down from a higher bit depth (like 24bits) to a lower bit depth (like 16bits). It is best to avoid dithering down like that until the very final mix.

BeepsterFrom what I understand the ONLY time you should apply dithering is if you are bouncing/mixing down from a higher bit depth (like 24bits) to a lower bit depth (like 16bits). It is best to avoid dithering down like that until the very final mix.

 
 
So are you meaning that Sonar would never dither when just online realtime playing back?

Afaik I only actually use dither when I export a project as audio and want to save it as 16 bit instead of the 24 bit I work with: the preference you can set is just the default you will see when exporting. If you don't change the preference you might forget to choose the best setting while exporting to another bit depth. So setting the preference is a set and forget option for exporting. Afaik that's it...

drewfx1
There is actually more to the various dither settings, but generally in the real world none of it is ever audible, so it doesn't really matter. For instance if you are using an external insert, freezing tracks or running plugins at a lower bit depth than the audio engine, dither may be applied automatically.

Correct. There are other reasons to have dither on besides going from higher to lower bit depth.

Grem

drewfx1
There is actually more to the various dither settings, but generally in the real world none of it is ever audible, so it doesn't really matter. For instance if you are using an external insert, freezing tracks or running plugins at a lower bit depth than the audio engine, dither may be applied automatically.

Correct. There are other reasons to have dither on besides going from higher to lower bit depth.

what other reasons might there be? I've only ever used it in the context of reducing bit depth

lawp
what other reasons might there be? I've only ever used it in the context of reducing bit depth

See the links in my above post.

Grem
Parco, what you are asking (if I am understanding you correctly) can be a complicated answer that I cannot give a short answer to. This topic has come up so many times (and it's quite interesting too) and explained in detail by people much more competent than I am.
 
Here are a few links I found:




 
Dithering is explained how it is used in sonar in these threads. You will have to read them to find out what you want to do. There is a choice. Only you can make it!
 
 

Hello and I'd just read all of them, but not exactly what I want to know.
Actually I doubt that do any guys here really know what is "offline audio" and "online audio" I'm really meaning......

parco
 
Actually I doubt that do any guys here really know what is "offline audio" and "online audio" I'm really meaning......

If Noel failed to answer your question then I believe you need to better define what you mean by offline and online.

lawp
Thanks for the links :-) all seem to be about bit depth reduction/truncation? I was wondering what your other uses were?

Lawp, you seem to want me to answer you directly about what other uses there are for dithering?
 
Now as I said in the post I referenced you to, I explained I am not so competent sometimes in clearly explaining what I am thinking. For that I say I am sorry. No confusion was meant.
 
To be clear now, Noel said what I was trying to say.

Beepster

parco

Grem
Parco, what you are asking (if I am understanding you correctly) can be a complicated answer that I cannot give a short answer to. This topic has come up so many times (and it's quite interesting too) and explained in detail by people much more competent than I am.
 
Here are a few links I found:
 
 
 
 
 
Dithering is explained how it is used in sonar in these threads. You will have to read them to find out what you want to do. There is a choice. Only you can make it!
 
 

Hello and I'd just read all of them, but not exactly what I want to know.
Actually I doubt that do any guys here really know what is "offline audio" and "online audio" I'm really meaning......

No... I get it now. Online as in the processing taking place during transport and recording. Offline as in what is occurring during rendering. It's just your first post was a little hard to understand. Greetings from Canada.

Ok, I can just say like this:
offline = successively fast bouncing/exporting to any downmixed physical audio files that do nothing with the PCM clock of DAC/ADC, and just do with the full speed of your CPU only.
online = realtime recording or playing back directly just by Sonar its own self and do everything with the PCM clock of your ADC/DAC in bit perfect audio devices synchronizing, as maybe what you said "transport" or "recording".

offline/online is a very basic term in the DAW professional world, as the "line" is meaning the audio stream connections to your sound devices.

And my original question was very simple: If dithering is set inside Preferences, then would Sonar apply dithering also before final mixed audio sent to the DAC when "online" mixing playback is going on?

I know it should effect the "offline" bouncing but I just don't know can I monitor the dithered result or not just when "online" playback which I don't need to bouncing out any mixed audio files.

And I don't know why would guys comprehend my simple question in so complicated ways.
And guys please don't explain to me again and again that Do I really need ditherings or When would I really need. Thanks. I never care about that, OK? All I just want to know is just how Sonar x2 really works physically inside its engineering, and not dithering concept lessons again and again, that's really enough.

lol... I understood what was going on once the other users and Noel started commenting. I wouldn't describe what you just posted as simple. Probably just a language barrier. Relax. I wasn't trying to give you a hard time. I just didn't understand the question as stated and admittedly was a little ignorant of the subject so for that I apologize. Cheers.