Question to the pros, about the best way to get from 24 bit to 16 bit...

[Ruairi]

Well at the risk of getting banned I'm still using the L2. I've demoed (and blind tested) most everything that came along over the last few years and haven't really heard anything significantly better. That said I can't try the very latest as my studio rig is PPC HD so I'm looking forward to trying the new Flux Elixir once I get my Sequoia rig happening.

That said I don't lean on limiters for two much level.

[huejahfink]

To the OP - for what you describe I think the Sonnox you already have is perfect.
1) It's a very able limiter
2) You already have it!!

[alecsribet]

Originally Posted by lowland

Speaking about sample rate conversion (others will no doubt comment on dither) 'best' isn't easy to quantify because much of this stuff is down to personal preference, and also the available technologies have advanced quite a bit in recent years.

I use Sample Manager because it doesn't get me bogged down tweaking settings and sounds very good to my ears. If you want a more adjustable version of the same algorithm, iZotope RX2 Advanced has the bells and whistles and is a fine denoising and repitching package to boot - with a price to match. I have RX2 Advanced, but still generally use Sample Manager for SRC, sometimes workflow considerations outweigh others.
iZotope RX - Complete Audio Restoration: Declipping, Declicker, Hum Removal, Denoiser, Spectral Repair, Restore, Remaster, Download

Another SRC solution which I haven't heard but others would put in your 'best of the best' category is Weiss Saracon, and as you might expect from the company it's not cheap.
Weiss :: SARACON

Finally, if you haven't already seen it, check out
SRC Comparisons

I have checked the Ozone 5, very impressive piece of vst ... I only used the maximizer now and it's amazing ... honestly I am having a better more defined and cleaner sound than Oxford limiter :O

I have rendered a track but still got the same problem though , then I have read stuff online about 24 to 16 bit & SRC conversion on LIVE and it seems that everybody knows that it is an ABLETON problem ...except me LOL.

So the only option is using the SAMPLE MANAGER. But it is MAC :O

Do you know of any alternative for PC that is as competent as The sample manager please ?

[syntone]

You can try Wavelab or Izotope RX Advanced as a standalone application!

2R

[echoRausch]

Originally Posted by alecsribet

I have rendered a track but still got the same problem though , then I have read stuff online about 24 to 16 bit conversion on LIVE and it seems that everybody knows that it is an ABLETON problem ...except me LOL.

Why do you want to convert the file in ableton? Render a 24bit-file out of Ableton and do the conversion whereever you want... You have to find software using Izotope/Weiss SRC but this will not be cheap (RX2?).

As much as I have respect for all the people working hard for the "perfect" mix and master I believe there are more important and more obvious things than the perfect sound of dithering or SRC. Especially if you can avoid the need of doing a sample rate conversion at all.

I often get mixes people made and are excited about them. These "perfect" mixes often turn out to be much less than ideal or even good.

[alecsribet]

Sorry I didn't quite grasp the concept and now it is making more sense , I will test the programs and buy the one that sounds best

EchoRausch , the thing is, I have spent quite a lot of energy crafting a mix that sounds good and punchy and those conversions are just messing up the sounds and making everything sound ugly ... so in this case I am learning that something like SRC is quite important :O

[alecsribet]

Thanks a lot lot lot guys for your help I did it lol

[greggybud]

Originally Posted by Ruairi

Well at the risk of getting banned I'm still using the L2. I've demoed (and blind tested) most everything that came along over the last few years and haven't really heard anything significantly better. That said I can't try the very latest as my studio rig is PPC HD so I'm looking forward to trying the new Flux Elixir once I get my Sequoia rig happening.

That said I don't lean on limiters for two much level.

I would be banned too. I think some users would be surprised if they found out some very well known commercial ME's still use the L-2 when they feel it is the proper tool to use.

But I also get the feeling most users here employ a limiter for the majority of their gain. This is not how it works with myself and other commercial ME's I know.

[StringBean]

Originally Posted by greggybud

But I also get the feeling most users here employ a limiter for the majority of their gain. This is not how it works with myself and other commercial ME's I know.

Where do you get your gain from?

[Huntley Miller]

Originally Posted by greggybud

I would be banned too. I think some users would be surprised if they found out some very well known commercial ME's still use the L-2 when they feel it is the proper tool to use.

But I also get the feeling most users here employ a limiter for the majority of their gain. This is not how it works with myself and other commercial ME's I know.

Ban me as well. I'm doing a very loud rock thing with no more than 1dB of L2 today.

[Ruairi]

Originally Posted by StringBean

Where do you get your gain from?

It's mostly about the right EQ, I clip if necessary but not the converter, I do it post capture ITB, drop the level post clip and follow with my limiter.

Good mixes will go loud more easily, bad mixes always suffer.

I think using compression for level is a bad idea, I tend to compress for dynamic control and sometimes for tone but almost never for level. In order to get any appreciable level boost with compression you end up damaging the track too much.

Of course I'm speaking about mastering commercially across a variety of material, not what you might put across the bus on EDM or something like that.

[The Harvest]

Originally Posted by alecsribet

Thanks a lot for your input guys!!!! I will look for those on the spot

By the way if price is not a problem, what is the BEST OF THE BEST(simply the best and most advanced) program out there that can do the job(resampling and dithering) please ??

Use 2 computers, both with high quality AD/DA and play the original mix into an analog mastering chain and then capture the result on computer 2 with your new desired sample rate and bit depth. No dithering required this way.
Sent from my MB860 using Gearslutz App

[Bob Olhsson]

If you start with really clean audio, you actually can do a remarkable amount of limiting but if it has been "warmed" or "saturated" anything more than a few dB can sound pretty bad.

This is why monitors are by far the most important mastering tool!

[greggybud]

Originally Posted by Ruairi

It's mostly about the right EQ, I clip if necessary but not the converter, I do it post capture ITB, drop the level post clip and follow with my limiter.

Good mixes will go loud more easily, bad mixes always suffer.

I think using compression for level is a bad idea, I tend to compress for dynamic control and sometimes for tone but almost never for level. In order to get any appreciable level boost with compression you end up damaging the track too much.

Of course I'm speaking about mastering commercially across a variety of material, not what you might put across the bus on EDM or something like that.

Have you tried series compression? Sometimes it works for me.

Where to get it?
Proper gain staging always, EQ often, parallel compression once in a while, soft clipping sometimes, sometimes working with M/S, what else have I missed? Then...feed the limiter an almost mastered sound for just a bit more..

I hear mixes that sound like someone just slapped a limiter on the end of the chain, cranked it up, and called it a day.

[Ruairi]

Originally Posted by greggybud

Have you tried series compression? Sometimes it works for me.

Yes. I've probably mastered less than 10 songs in the last 8 years that required more than one compressor.