dither at A/D stage or in software?

[Unknown soldier]

I don't have a 16 bit converter (A2D is only 24 bit). I apply dither when finalizing mixes in software.....Would it be better to dither at the A/D stage when summing back into PT?

[Unknown soldier]

Originally Posted by dylansmale

I'm wonder if you can set the PT setup to read only 16 bit, and still have the A2D converter running at 24 bit.

Also, you can always bounce to disk at 16 bit at the end if your too worried about CPU usage recording at 24 bit.

yes, you can have 16 bit PT sessions...cpu usage isnt' an issue, just wondering if you'll get better reverb tails and depth of mix when using dither at the AD stage instead of "processing" the file after the fact.

[Evanskyler]

I understand the concept of using noise shaping, but why specifically are different dithers subjective?

[NathanEldred]

Wait until your completely done. Most people put a look ahead digital limiter on the output of the stereo bus in their DAW (I do this in Samplitude when mastering), so the dither should come after all processing. It's 24 bit all the way until the actual CD is burned (which usually gets POW-r dither 1 as I find it the most natural sounding, i.e. most like the original 24 bit file).