MP3 - maximum sample rate and bit depth

jwleeman · 3rd February 2009

what is the maximum sampling rate and bit depth supported by MP3, can someone tell me?

(and when i say "bit depth", i of course don't mean "bit rate")

oudplayer · 3rd February 2009

AFAIK the official MPEG standard for mp3 indicates support for 22k, 32k, 44.1k, and 48k sampling rates. Extensions allowed for lower sampling rates, but, I do not believe it supports higher sampling rates. Regarding bit depth, the mp3 encoders I've used produce identical-size files whether I provide a 24 or a 16 bit file. So I assume that there is some form of truncation necessary, meaning that the standard is fixed at 16 bit.

waltermusik · 3rd February 2009

There was a thread about this a while ago, and somebody said that mp3 uses float internally. So I guess that 24bit are not simply truncated by the coder but I don't expect you to hear any difference.

3rd February 2009	#1
jwleeman Gear maniac Joined: Oct 2008 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 298 Thread Starter	MP3 - maximum sample rate and bit depth what is the maximum sampling rate and bit depth supported by MP3, can someone tell me? (and when i say "bit depth", i of course don't mean "bit rate")

3rd February 2009	#2
oudplayer Lives for gear Joined: May 2003 Location: Lake Cayuga, NY Posts: 908 3 Reviews written	AFAIK the official MPEG standard for mp3 indicates support for 22k, 32k, 44.1k, and 48k sampling rates. Extensions allowed for lower sampling rates, but, I do not believe it supports higher sampling rates. Regarding bit depth, the mp3 encoders I've used produce identical-size files whether I provide a 24 or a 16 bit file. So I assume that there is some form of truncation necessary, meaning that the standard is fixed at 16 bit. __________________ -oudplayer ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Anatolian oud session player; world/esoteric music recording, mixing, and mastering musiq.com on soundcloud ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

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3rd February 2009	#3
waltermusik Gear addict Joined: Aug 2007 Location: Germany Posts: 335	There was a thread about this a while ago, and somebody said that mp3 uses float internally. So I guess that 24bit are not simply truncated by the coder but I don't expect you to hear any difference.