Audio Recording Tips

“Dithering audio” is the process of putting unrecognizable/white noise in a lower bit depth as a result of the conversion from a higher bit audio.

In the audio mixing process, the mix down is mostly 24 bit audio or 32 bit which is higher than CD audio resolution (16 bit). If these are converted to 16 bit, there will losses in the audio digital signals due to downgrading the audio resolution.

These losses can be noticed in a 16 bit audio as minor distortion of the signal. Bear in mind that since dithering is adding “white noise”, this strategy is more preferable than not applying dithering at all which results to “distortion” (or we can say that white noise is more preferable than distortion).

By applying “noise shaping” techniques you can further minimize the effects of “white noise” on the converted audio. Noise shaping will basically place “white noise” away from audible frequencies (those that can be heard easily by humans). This will be covered also in this guide (see below).

Below are the some of the important steps in how to dither 24 bit or 32 bit audio to 16 bit CD audio. This is an important task in the audio mastering process. The steps illustrated below are using Adobe Audition 1.5, although similar procedures and functionalities can be done in mostly audio recording and mixing software.

Step1. Open the high bit depth audio in Adobe Audition Editor view.

Step2. Confirm the audio resolution by going into View — Wave properties. The audio is shown as:

It shows that the source file is a 44.1 KHz, 32 bit audio wav file.

Step3. Close the file in Adobe Audition Editor view.

Step4. Go to File — Batch processing – Click “Add Files” — navigate to the audio file location in your hard drive and click “Add”

Step5. Skip “Run script” but click “Resample” tab.

Step6. Make sure “Conversion settings” has been checked.

Step7. Click “Change destination format”.

Step8. Configure the following in the “Convert Sample type” menu.

Sample rate=44100
Channels = stereo
Resolution = 16
Pre/post filter = checked

Step9. Check “Enable Dithering”.
Step10. Dithering settings:

Dither depth = 0.5
p.d.f = Triangular
Noise shaping = 44.1 KHz

Screenshot:

Click OK.
Step11. Under “Output format” select WAV file and 16 bit (44.1Khz).
Step12. Select where you would like to save your converted audio file.

Related posts:

1. How to Maximize Volume in Audio Recording?
2. Fast Fourier Transform to View Audio Frequency Spectrum
3. Phase Cancellation in Audio Mixing & Mastering: How to prevent this
4. Tips in Mastering Audio at Home!
5. Tips when doing home audio mastering: “Doing Setting screenshot”