[colug-432] 24-bit Sound Input

[Tom Hanlon]

Dave,

I am really happy with my edirol R-09HR.

It is a standalone recorder, 24 bit .


Perhaps something like that would give you what you need , and also  
serve as a fun hand held recorder ?

I see it at $300 or so.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016MLUKU/ref=asc_df_B0016MLUKU984016?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=googlecom09c9-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B0016MLUKU

I think I found mine a little bit cheaper.

The level indicators are nice and visible, the built in mics, if you  
ever used them, seem pretty good to me.

--
Tom

On 13 Dec 2009, at 01:02, Dave Maxwell wrote:

> On Sun December 13 2009, vince at planetvince wrote:
>
>> 2.  Audacity has a auto level function I've used.
>> It looks at the entire file and then adjusts the level to the max  
>> with no
>> clipping. Possibly this will eliminate the 24/16 bit issue.
>>
>> v
>
> That is normalization and it should almost always be the final step of
> processing a given bit of audio.  It doesn't solve the issue because  
> 16 bit
> audio at 44 or 48 kHz is a final destination format at "CD  
> quality".  To get
> CD quality a given piece must be sampled such that the loudest peak  
> in the
> piece is also the loudest sample that it is possible to take but no  
> louder.
> In practice, this can't be accomplished.   You want that because you  
> want the
> widest possible variation between the loudest and softest samples in  
> your
> recording.  This is called "dynamic range".
>
> That is why I would play a record side a time or three to get as  
> close as I
> could before actually recording.  If however, I record and edit in  
> 24 bit and
> set my levels such that I'm consistently hitting around 75% then I'm  
> assured
> that I'm taking advantage of an amount of dynamic range that easily  
> exceeds
> that possible in a 16 bit recording.  And I wouldn't need to be  
> fiddly about
> it.  I only have to be consistently using in excess of 16 bits while  
> sampling
> the audio.  If I normalize that THEN downsample to 16 bit I'll have a
> recording that will have both a reasonable filesize and excellent  
> audio
> quality.
>
> In analog terms, a 24 bit/=>48kHz recording is pretty like using 1- 
> inch audio
> tape at a fast speed.  If then master that down to an audiocassette,  
> I'm
> assured of taking advantage of the maximum a Phillips cassette can  
> offer.
> This is why a cassette you used to buy would pretty much always  
> sound better
> than dubbing one off your friend's copy.
>
> Normalizing by itself doesn't create information.  Dynamic range is  
> one analog
> measure of a recording's information content or the ability of your  
> playback
> equipment to reproduce it.
>
> Dave
> -- 
> Old MacDonald had an agricultural real estate tax abatement.
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