Hi Everyone,
 
In the Audio Data of Preferences,  what should the settings be for:
 
Record Bit Depth:  16, 24, 32, or 64?
Rendered Bit Depth: 16, 24, 32, or 64?
 
I'm using the 64 bit version of Sonar X-2 Producer.  Windows 7
 
In majority of my recordings,  I'll be using between 4 and 8 tracks and some FX.

Record should be 24 and render should be 32. The version of sonar and your windows version (64 or 32 bit) has nothing to do with your bit depths. There 2 different things entirely. Track count doenst matter either.

Cj

just curious why should render be 32 and not 24? seems to work great at 24 and 24 on my machine. am i doing something wrong? i record 16 tracks of audio at one time, running windows 7-64 bit sp1, 16 gig, 2tb i5 desk sonar x2 a 64bit

CJaysMusic

There 2 different things entirely.

Where? 

32 is a floating bit. it gives you more room for processing. I laows have my imort setting to 32 and render setting for 32. Having 32bits will give you a more accurate sound than 24bits

Cj

CJ is spot on.

Rendering at 32 bit means all of the internal processing/calculations (with is all pure mathematics) is performed with a higher resolution pushing rounding errors down into the noise floor

i guess 32 is the default value (for the "rendered bit depth)

  thankx cj. really appreciate guys like you posting on these boards. i ll be changing it asap.

vizio

just curious why should render be 32 and not 24? seems to work great at 24 and 24 on my machine. am i doing something wrong? i record 16 tracks of audio at one time, running windows 7-64 bit sp1, 16 gig, 2tb i5 desk sonar x2 a 64bit

The Render setting only comes in to play if you apply effects to a track, bounce it, or freeze it. It also set's the default Bit Rate for when you Export your project IIRC.


You want your Render setting to match your VST's processing ability. Most are 32 Bit, but some are 64 Bit. You can tell by going in to Preferences and enabling the 64 Bit Audio Engine. When you look at your VST's in the FX Bin, they will have 4 little tick's instead of 2. 2 means it's a Stereo VST being processed at 32 Bit, 4 means it's a Stereo VST being processed at 64 Bit.


We're not talking about 32/64 as in Sonar 32 or 64, we're talking about how it processes the audio signal. There's a difference. For example, Sonar 32 Bit will process your Exports at 64 Bit, even though the program itself is 32 Bit, as long as the 64 Bit Audio Engine is enabled in Preferences.


You'll also see a Dither setting. This is used for when you have your Render settings set lower than your VST processing Bit Rate for when you apply effects, bounce, or freeze. It also sets the default Dithering for when you Export. It does not kick in unless it is required. So if you set it, and it's not needed, it doesn't get used by Sonar.

None of it's permanent unless you apply effects, bounce, freeze, or export.

I don't use Dithering at all anymore. Even when I export. I export all my projects at 32 Bit and create an MP3 directly from the 32 Bit file. You don't need to use Dithering when you create an MP3, and it's rare that I burn a CD anymore. When I do, then I use Dithering, but it's really rare.

Thanks for this helpful post, Bub.

I have never been clear with the dither setting.
I use it only when i export to CD, as you said. So my default setting is "none".

But you wrote that there is a dithering, not only for export, but also for certain internal treatments ; effects (if there is 32 and 64 bits plugs together , i suppose ?), bounce (why, if you don't modify the resolution ?), freeze (the same question than for bounce).
So, i wonder if it would be better to set my default dither on Pow-r3 (i use Sonar X2 Pro 64).

I also wonder if it is better to set the Render setting on 64 rather than 32 (so the render is optimal with 64 plugs and audio engine), no ?