I noticed in the detailed comparison chart between X1 essential, studio, and producer that essential has a 32 bit mix engine, while studio and producer have a 64 bit mix engine.  How much real world difference is there between 32 and 64?

I think we get into area's of code here that are negligible...so it might depend on what you are mixing...obviously will require more cpu power (or time) which of course should improve your user experience by a factor of whatever the delta is between what you had and what you get...

Technically speaking the rounding errors in a 32 bit engine should fall way below normal perception and going up to a 64 bit engine does not simply double the math headroom...it moves it up a logarithmic scale...

Basically in terms of a user experience and hearing math artifacts a 64 bit engine should not have ANY that you can hear...but in truth that applies to a 32 bit engine as well since the range of human hearing is a fairly known metric...

Without trying to dumb down an answer the answer should be none...if you're getting noticeable math errors that create artifacts in a mix engine you've got bad code...its just an additional feature for those who are more impressed with specs than they are with their own creativity...

Excellent response Psychobillybob.

IIRC, the only time there is an audible difference between 32 and 64 bit is on things such as reverb tails, and even then it's so subtle you have to solo the track and turn the volume up quite a ways to hear the difference.

I don't beleive there is any difference in the mixing algorythms between 32 bit and 64 bit operating systems.  The advantages of 64 bit are that you can access a ton more memory and the operating system can "breath" easier.  However, I don't know the difference between Sonar Studio and Sonar producer.

64 bit mix engine is not the same thing as a 64 bit OS. The 64 bit engine can run on a 32 bit version of windows

Roger is right. There is a difference between a 32 bit audio engine and a 64 bit one. Nether has anything to do with OS bit depth. CW has been allowing this for some time now and it is up to the user which engine to use. I believe they introduced this in Sonar 5. You can, for example, choose to use the 32 bit audio engine in 64 bit X1 and the 64 bit audio engine in the 32 bit X1.

omtayslick


I noticed in the detailed comparison chart between X1 essential, studio, and producer that essential has a 32 bit mix engine, while studio and producer have a 64 bit mix engine.  How much real world difference is there between 32 and 64?

Yes, x64 sounds best and its audible/hearable too.

AES x64bit mixing engine, here is why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9EeW9WhNWA

I think there is allot of mistaken identity between Windows Architecture and the 64bit engine. There entirety 2 completely utterly different in every which way and have no bearing on what windows you use and have.  Ya follow?

Cj

There is absolutely no audible difference when exporting with the 64bit engine on 95% of the time. I've done extensive testing, so have others. Like I said before, the only time you will hear a slight difference is when listening to effects such as reverb, and it's such a slight difference it's not worth worrying about.

Download the demo of X1, load some of your projects in it or do some quick ones (guitar, bass, vocal), and export them with and without the 64bit Audio Engine turned on. Decide for yourself because almost all of us who have replied to you in this thread have been arguing with each other about this for years, and no one as of yet has come up with a definitive answer. So, get the demo, do an A-B comparison, and decide for yourself.