Quote:
24 bits has a theoretical dynamic range of 144dB. Our best converters have a dynamic range of 114dB. That's a big 30dB difference.
Most DAW users mix using the full 144dB range. In other words, they mix right up to 0dBFS. If they are smarter, they mix up to -6dBFS. Even then they are still using 24dB greater range than the best converters in the world can reproduce.
So - if you run your audio through your converters and back again, you are squeezing 144dB through a 114dB hole. The corners are going to get knocked off. You Will get extra noise, distortion and phase shift. This Will be noticable.
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You've actually got it backwards...you don't start at the bottom and count up, you start at the top and count down. Whether you're mixing on a 24-, 16-, or 8 bit system, 0 dBFS is the loudest you can get and if you take a 16-bit file that peaks at 0 dBFS and import it into a 24-bit system it will still peak at 0 dBFS and be just as loud as it was in the 16-bit system...no less and no more. More bits don't let you get louder, they let you get quieter.
In addition, most DAW users don't even come close to using the full 144 dB dynamic range they have abailable theoretically, or even 114 dB, or 80, or 60, at least not as far as popular music is concerned...put in most commercial CD's and you'll see that the meters probably don't go more than 10 dB down. It is true that there would be artifacts if you tried to push a signal that truly utilized 144 dB of dynamic range through a 114 dB "hole" but they'd all be so quiet you wouldn't hear them.
-Duardo