Bit resolution is a term describing the dynamic range of a digital audio recording. The dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and the quietest point of the recording. The dynamic range is often reported in decibels (dB). In a digital audio recording, each bit (in the bit resolution) equals roughly 6 dB in the dynamic range. One could say that one bit (which can have two values, 0 or 1, true or false) gives the instrument in a recording a total of 2 volume levels. 2-bit gives 4 volume levels, because 2-bit gives 4 possible combinations. The "volume levels" (more commonly and hereafter known as discrete values) of a certain bit resolution can be calculated by (2ⁿ) where n is the number of bits. Compact discs have a resolution of 16 bits, which equals 65536 discrete values and a theoretical maximum limit of 96 dB dynamic range. Dynamic range is a term used frequently in numerous fields to describe the ratio between the smallest and largest possible values of a changeable quantity. ... A digital system is one that uses numbers, especially binary numbers, for input, processing, transmission, storage, or display, rather than a continuous spectrum of values (an analog system) or non-numeric symbols such as letters or icons. ... The decibel (dB) is a measure of the ratio between two quantities, and is used in a wide variety of measurements in acoustics, physics and electronics. ... This article is about the unit of information. ... Interference colors. ...

Many audiophiles regard compact disc as inferior to the vinyl format. This is in part caused by the bit resolution of 16 bits and the ideal 96 dB dynamic range. Vinyl enthusiasts claim dynamic ranges of 100 dB or more, while typical estimates are closer to 60–80 dB for practical situations.[1] [2] An audiophile — literally, one who loves to hear — is a person dedicated to high-fidelity sound reproduction and achieving high-quality results in the recording and playback of music. ... A vinyl is an organic molecule containing a vinyl group or alkene. ... In computer science, 16-bit is an adjective used to describe integers that are at most two bytes wide, or to describe CPU architectures based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. ...

24-bit digital recording is believed to improve sound quality substantially, as well as increasing the sampling rate. Currently, only certain music DVDs with a 24-bit/96 kHz DTS track use 24-bit audio. However real world systems can not achieve the theoretical noise floor limits of 24-bit (-144.50dB). Practical dynamic ranges of ~110dB are more realistic after accounting for other noise sources other than 24-bit Quantization noise. In computer architecture, 24-bit is an adjective used to describe integers, memory addresses or other data units that are at most 24 bits (3 octets) wide, or to describe CPU and ALU architectures based on registers, address buses, or data buses of that size. ... The sampling frequency or sampling rate defines the number of samples per second taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. ... DVD-R writing/reading side DVD-R with purple dye, 4. ... A kilohertz (kHz) is a unit of frequency equal to 1,000 hertz (1,000 cycles per second). ... Quantization noise is a noise error introduced by the analogue to digital conversion (ADC) process in telecommunication systems and signal processing. ...

See also

• Signal-to-noise ratio
• Quantization noise

Signal-to-noise ratio (often abbreviated SNR or S/N) is meaningful both in the context of information theory and, informally, for Usenet or other newsgroup-like services. ... Quantization noise is a noise error introduced by the analogue to digital conversion (ADC) process in telecommunication systems and signal processing. ...

External links

• The 24-bit Field Recording FAQ