and yet another converter...

Hey Guys,
 
Soundblend posted a dynamite free audio format converter. Along the same line of inspiration, here’s another converter you need to keep your sessions from being digitally raped. It’s free, vital in my estimation (on paper anyway…) in light of end point specs if you are producing any audio CD, and first have recorded anywhere outside the 44.1k/16 bit CD standard. You can get r8brain 32 bit freebie converter at:
 
http://www.voxengo.com/product/r8brain/
 
Background scenario…You just did a pristine ProTools 192k 24 bit recording and want to make CD’s for your kid’s boom box. Unfortunately the audio CD has to be reduced to 44.1/16 to play.
 
Lots of pros and cons for recording at different sample rates and bit depth, but ultimately, your CD gets mangled to 44.1/16.  No other choice, and the worst possible disaster could be letting the CD software do the conversion. More junk can be thrown in than you started with. Also, pro DAW’s don’t mean pro conversion as the cold evidence shows.
 
A sobering and dismal comparison can be realized at:
 
http://src.infinitewave.ca/
 
I’m a Reaper freak, but as you can see, would never let Reaper handle a downsize conversion.  Sonar even at 8.5 beats the s*** out of Reaper. 
 
Input from greater minds is welcome in case I’m  f****** something up and missing a major clueless point..
 
For me, philosophical approach that has worked well, is to leave the bit depth at 16 because any noise floor level you gain with 24 bit, 32 bit float, whatever is lost in the conversion back to Red Book for the audio CD.  Less field for artifacts in the conversion.
 
There’s a possible rationale in raising the Nyquist ceiling way up there to prevent aliasing reflections back into the audible spectrum. If your system can handle it, higher sampling rate can maybe be better, even of it has to get reduced back to 44.1k to play in your car stereo...
 
This tirade aside, Sonar performance shows that downward conversion only slightly craps out above the audible spectrum for humans, with no appreciable reflections into what we can hear. Some serious quality in this area went into Sonar’s design. Your pet bat may however complain if you don’t get r8brain.
 
John