A Non O Miss
Joined: 07/02/08
Posts: 910
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#633961 - 05/07/08 08:20 PM
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Look I don't really want to get this into another long winded sample rate debate where
people get their panties in a bunch. I was merely being sarcastic and my last post should
be taken in jest, because I felt you were a little rude Desmond. Please feel
free to lock this baby down or whatever needs to be done so this doesn't spin out of
control way away from the OP's original question.
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desmond
Joined: 10/01/06
Posts: 7903
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#633965 - 05/07/08 08:42 PM
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Quote Jocoserious:
because I felt
you were a little rude Desmond.
If you took it that way, I apologise, but it really wasn't meant to insult you.
I felt that, from how you were describing things, that you really didn't
have a grasp on the mechanics at work here. Perhaps you weren't expressing yourself very
well, or perhaps I interpreted wrongly, but that's how it came across to me - if you took
that comment personally, once again, it wasn't intended to be insulting at all.
After all, not understanding something is not equivalent to being an idiot, and I
certainly didn't use that term or anything close (nor would I.)
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desmond
Joined: 10/01/06
Posts: 7903
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#633966 - 05/07/08 08:46 PM
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Quote Jocoserious:
Essentially we
are saying the same thing, either way a higher sample rate is going to provide a wider
frequency range because having more samples per second allows you to capture higher
frequencies because those travel faster, or something like that. I am not referring to
dynamic range I am referring to frequency range. On a spectral frequency it shows from 0
up to half of the sample rate, at least that is what shows in the program I am using.
Therefor 44.1 will not contain as much info as 96. Since we can't hear above 20khz
anything we apply over a 96khz platform will move more into the inaudible region...
Yeah. How much actual energy
is in those frequencies though is very small - I don't know if tests have been done to
determine how much energy is up in those frequencies, and certainly the jury is out on
whether we can perceive them (although we're fairly sure we can't "hear" them, at least as
we understand conventional hearing.)
Quote Jocoserious:
Not sure who he is or how knowledgeable
he really is, I am sure you are more qualified then he is.
I can assure you I am by far less
qualified than Bob Katz, don't worry...
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_Nuno_
Joined: 20/05/06
Posts: 804
Loc: Cork, Ireland
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634007 - 06/07/08 12:48 AM
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Quote Interweaved:
Now, suppose we're sampling at 40 kHz, and there's a 20 kHz sine wave, like thus:
Now... say your sampler samples at the blue points. Your
final sample will just be zeros. Say i samples at the yellow points. Your final sample
will be something like a 20 kHz sine wave, but reduced in volume for the original. So, on
average, 20 kHz waves will be somewhat lower in volume when sampled in 40 kHz than your
initial sample.
However, if you sampled at 80 or 160 kHz... you'd get a much
closer representation of the original wave.
lol
This must be a joke.
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_Nuno_
Joined: 20/05/06
Posts: 804
Loc: Cork, Ireland
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634010 - 06/07/08 12:53 AM
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Quote Jocoserious:
If
you are using 44.1 does that not mean that the range is from 0-44.1?
No. It means that provided your signal was
properly band width limited you will be able to perfectly reconstruct any sine waves below
the nyquist frequency. That's all it means. You don't need any more points to reconstruct
the sine wave, just like you don't need any more than two points to draw a straight line.
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A Non O Miss
Joined: 07/02/08
Posts: 910
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: _Nuno_]
#634022 - 06/07/08 01:22 AM
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Quote:
No. It means
that provided your signal was properly band width limited you will be able to perfectly
reconstruct any sine waves below the nyquist frequency. That's all it means. You don't
need any more points to reconstruct the sine wave, just like you don't need any more than
two points to draw a straight line.
Yeah taking it out of context sure...The only thing I was trying to get at, a
point which not many people seem to bring up, a point which most people seem to ignore and
look past is the point of using a higher sample rate to push most of the distortion into
an inaudible region.
I'm not trying to get into the more points argument, the
more accurate argument, the whatever else argument. The above point about degradation and
distortion was the only one I was trying to communicate and open for discussion.
If you would like I am sure you can go back to my posts and pull a lot of other one
liners out that on their own are totally useless. Put them within the whole story and
still you get a hard to follow muddled kind of explanation but it was all meant to try and
explain ONE point, nothing else.
I am not saying that what you say is incorrect
or anything of the sort, I am only saying that what you are correcting me on was not what
I was talking about.
If someone has something to say regarding using higher
sample rates to push distortion into inaudible ranges then I would love to hear it and
will take any kind of tongue lashing and name calling and corrections you want to throw at
me cause I am most definitely no expert, but please don't try correcting me on things I
was not even talking about. That only shows you are either not reading the thread and my
posts, skimming until you find something you can interject with your own wit and wisdom to
make yourself look like the scholar, or else I make absolutely zero sense to anyone trying
to follow which brings about the simpleton explanations of rudimentary nature.
Sorry for the long wind of hard to follow banter. I shall revert to the sidelines, I
promise to never, ever get involved in another sample rate discussion.
haha although they do always spur on a lot of discussion lol
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634049 - 06/07/08 08:34 AM
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Quote Interweaved:
Let me repeat
my argument again...
With
the greatest respect, there is no point in repeating a totally flawed argument that
doesn't adhere to the fundamental principle of the underlying maths as laid down in
Nyquist's and/or Shannon's sampling theorum.
What you are claiming, while
accurate, is irrelevant because sampling doesn't work if you use a sample rate which is
exactly double the frequency of the signal of interest. The sample rate HAS to be MORE
than twice the bandwidth of the source material. If it isn't, then it won't work, as you
have shown. That's what the theorum explains, and that's why everything samples at a rate
of more than twice the bandwidth being sampled. End of story.
Quote:
Assume the
Shannon/Nyquist theorem only eliminate aliasing, so your sidebands are eliminated. But it
does not guarantee anything about your sample being a great reproduction.
Oh dear... It
appears that you don't understand the Nyqusit theorem. Can I respectfully suggest you read
this article which
will go some way to explaining the process. Or the Lavry article cited above.
Quote:
Now, suppose we're
sampling at 40 kHz, and there's a 20 kHz sine wave, like thus:
There would be no point as this example
contravenes the Nyquist theorum, and it won't work. So no system will try to operate this
way. It's about as useful as saying, see how this petrol engine won't run on diesel fuel,
and therefore the whole internal combustion theory is crap!
Quote:
However, if you sampled
at 80 or 160 kHz... you'd get a much closer representation of the original wave.
It wouldn't just be 'closer', it
would be totally accurate -- and the reason is that by sampling at a rate of more than
twice the bandwidth of the source signal, you are now adhereing to the Nyquist rules and,
surprise, surprise, it all works perfectly! Magic! But it
is very wasteful and inefficient if you aren't particularly interested in the upper
portion of the audio bandwidth.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634051 - 06/07/08 08:41 AM
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Quote Jocoserious:
If you are
using 44.1 does that not mean that the range is from 0-44.1? So when you apply something
like a plug in it is contained within 0-44.1. When you convert it down it is now gone from
0-44.1 to say 0-20 thus losing 24.1 of range.
No. sampling at 44.1kHz allows the system to know preciselty what
is going on up to about 20kHz (or whereveer the anti-alias filter rolls off). That 20kHz
audio is 'reflected' above and below the 44.1kHz sample rate as 'images.' Again, check out
that digital myths article in February's SOS to see what I mean.
The processing
is only applied to the region defined by the sampling, between 20Hz and 20kHz (or whatever
the filters allow).
There are some advantages to processing at higher rates,
for sure. HF EQ can be made to work in a way which replicates analogue EQs much better.
Dynamic processing is more accurate, as is metering...
But in plug-ins and
systems that use oversampling internally while ostensibly working at 44.1kHz, the original
audio bandwidth remains unchanged -- it is still 20Hz to 20kHz.
In
systems that operate from the outset at 96kHz (or whatever), the original audio bandwidth
will be 20Hz to 40kHz (or thereabouts) -- although whether there is actually any useful
content above 20kHz depends on the quality and design of the microphones and other
sources.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634053 - 06/07/08 08:54 AM
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Quote Jocoserious:
Like I said
before I knew I was being convoluted. No need to call me an idiot, I can do that
myself.
Yes I do understand pal
Calm down, please. He hasn't called you an idiot, but it does
appear that you don't really understand it -- and there is no shame in that because this
is a complicated topic that very, very few really understand completely. And it's not
helped by the enormous about of misinformation that so many people pass around as solid
facts!
Quote:
Essentially we are saying the same thing, either way a higher sample rate is going to
provide a wider frequency range because having more samples per second allows you to
capture higher frequencies because those travel faster, or something like that.
See... you're not really sure are you.
You
are right, though, that a higher sampling rate allows a greater audio bandwidth to be
described. So while a 44.1kHz sample rate caters for an audio bandwidth from, say, 20Hz to
20kHz, a 96kHz sample rate would cater for an audio bandwidth from 20Hz to 40kHz -- in
broad terms.
Quote:
Since we can't hear above 20khz anything we apply over a 96khz platform will move more
into the inaudible region...
Sampling at a 96kHz rate doesn't move anything. It just allows whatever is in the
region between 20kHz and 40kHz to be captured.
Quote:
"Thus there is considerable advantage of doing
all our processing at higher sample rates, which moves the distortion products into the
inaudible spectrum above 20khz".
The first part of the sentence is correct. The second is confusing and misleading,
and really needs more context to justify the claim. Bob Katz knows his stuff, but I fear
this quote isn't doing him justice.
Quote:
So sorry for not being able to simply communicate this very easy
to understand topic. I mean there are only a million threads, articles and books on sample
rate simply because it is so easy to understand and everyone enjoys debating known facts
for the simple reason of debating.
Don't apologise -- it is a hard topic to understand and discuss -- and of those
millions of threads and articles, 90% are wrong or grossly misleading, sadly.
Quote:
All I know is that
96khz will contain more info than 44.1khz will regardless of whether we can hear it or not
and regardless of exactly how and why it does.
Correct.
Quote:
To me saying 0-44.1 or 0-96 is the same as saying samples per
second sine wav this and that yada yada yada. To argue over semantics is a waste of
time.
No, this is not
correct. These are not the same things, and the differences are important to a correct and
reliable understanding of the subject. We are talking about a very clearly defined, but
immensely complex process. Using confused terminology and inappropriate analogies doesn't
help anyone.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: desmond]
#634055 - 06/07/08 08:59 AM
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Quote desmond:
Yeah. How much
actual energy is in those frequencies though is very small - I don't know if tests have
been done to determine how much energy is up in those frequencies, and certainly the jury
is out on whether we can perceive them (although we're fairly sure we can't "hear" them,
at least as we understand conventional hearing.)
Yes, tests have been done. The amount of energy various, as you
would probably expect, with the source. Things like trumpets and cymbals generate a huge
amount of ultrasonic audio energy. So do things like switched mode (universal) power
supplies and the inverters that drive the backlights in LCD screens. And if the
microphones have a wide enough bandwidth (and many do, these days) all of this ultrasonic
garbage that is inaudible to us naturally is being captured in pristine quality if you
operate at 96kHz!
Worse... if there is some non-linearity in some of your
digital processing the resulting intermodulation products may well render these ultrasonic
signals to a lower frequency range where they will become audible 
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634059 - 06/07/08 09:09 AM
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Quote Jocoserious:
Yeah taking it
out of context sure...The only thing I was trying to get at, a point which not many people
seem to bring up, a point which most people seem to ignore and look past is the point of
using a higher sample rate to push most of the distortion into an inaudible region.
What distortion? There is no
distortion if the system is sampling properly according to the Nyquist theorum (and
ignoring any quantising artefacts for the moment). Sampling is a perfect process, provided
the filtering complies with the requirements -- which they do in all well designed
systems. It doesn't add distortion, and sampling at 96kHz doesn't change that. It doesn't
'push' disortion products anywhere, either.
Sampling at 96kHz allows more
accurate signal processing in some ways than working at 44.1kHz, and if you are using
badly designed anti-alias and reconstruction filters, the audibility of their functioning
will be reduced since the turnover is an octave higher. But that's it.
You are
right though, threads on any aspect of digital audio are always busy and tempers tend to
fray as those who do understand the topic get frustrated with those who don't, and those
who don't get upset when their misunderstandings are exposed.
But as I've said,
it is a very complex subject that is inherently hard to understand, and very few
explanations in colleges, on the web, and even in some books get it right. To really get
to grips with sampling theory, you also need a solid undertsanding of modulation theory
and information theory -- both highly technical subjects in themselves.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Jonnypopisical
Joined: 16/07/05
Posts: 1078
Loc: London
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634061 - 06/07/08 09:13 AM
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Hi Hugh, I think the question has got way too complex. Surely the simple answer
for 99.9% of people recording at home in a semi-pro - or even pro setup would be to
suggest that 44.1kHz is far more appropriate than 96kHz. Simple as that. I would only suggest there is any point in recording at significantly higher
frequencies if very high end gear was being used throughout for the purposes of audio
research or very very high end (classical) recordings. The simply truth is that most other
systems have other factors that affect the recording quality to a much larger degree than
the sampling frequency ie. Jitter, D-A inaccuracies and distortion in both analogue and
digital domains. Not to mention 'distortion' in the mixing process! And given that, again,
99.9% of people listen to music on CD or mp3 players surely recording at 96kHz becomes a
bit of a nonsense. BTW - Huge fan of SOS - bought the very first issue!
-------------------- Mac Pro, Logic Pro, lots of software and 17 hard drives!
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Jonnypopisical]
#634064 - 06/07/08 09:25 AM
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Quote Jonnypopisical:
I think the
question has got way too complex.
I don't think questions can get too complex, only the answers! But this is a
complex topic and there is still a huge amount of misunderstanding about it, as has been
shown here. Hopefully, threads like this will help, in some small way, to reduce this kind
of misunderstanding over time. That's why I perservere with it, anyway 
Quote:
Surely the simple
answer for 99.9% of people recording at home in a semi-pro - or even pro setup would be to
suggest that 44.1kHz is far more appropriate than 96kHz.
I'd say more practical, rather than more
appropriate.
Quote:
The simply truth is that most other systems have other factors that affect the recording
quality to a much larger degree than the sampling frequency
You're certainly right there. Moving a
microphone a few inches one way or the other would make a far more audible difference than
switching between 44.1 and 96kHz sample rates.
Quote:
And given that, again, 99.9% of people listen to
music on CD or mp3 players surely recording at 96kHz becomes a bit of a nonsense.
Not a nonsense. The source recordings
should always be of the highest possible quality because anything that is then done to the
material can only reduce quality. That's why high speed and wide format tapes were used in
the studios back in the day when the consumer had manky 7-inch singles and ceramaic
cartridges, or cassette players, or AM radio.
With modern digital equipment,
the processing losses are far less than they were with analogue gear, but the principle
remains the same. More worryingly, it is now quite common for domestic users to have
replay equipment which is beginning to rival that of professional studios. DVD-A can
accommodate 24/192 material, DTS discs can accommodate 24/96 material, and SACD is roughly
equivalent to 24/96. MP3 is a convenience at the moment, like cassette was twenty years
ago, but it may well be superceded by something far better in the not too distant
future.
Quote:
BTW -
Huge fan of SOS - bought the very first issue!
Thanks muchly 
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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jayzed
member
Joined: 19/03/04
Posts: 846
Loc: North London
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634088 - 06/07/08 11:30 AM
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I've been interested in this arguement for a while. Over on another thread, we have been
discussing the article...
mixonline.com/recording/mixing/audio_emperors_new_sampling/
...where Paul
Lehrman (one of Mr Robjohns' peers in the audio journalism world I believe) talks about a
study that points to higher sampling rates not really making a noticable difference. Of
course, the study refers to stereo recordings and it may still be better to record
multitrack at a higher rate before downsampling but I wonder if it does make a difference.
Before the days of oversampling plug-ins which seem to improve distortion and eq
algorithms (as I've found out through using Guitar Rig, PSP products with and without the
'Fat' selected and my UAD plugs) the argument for 96K may have been stronger but I'd like
to see a study testing the difference with using higher rates throughout the production
process. When I say I wonder, I'm not just using a rhetorical device as I do indeed
wonder. I imagine people like Mr Robjohns have much more opportunity to test these things
than I do but after reading the article above I'm going to stick to 44.1 and use
oversampling plugs like the UAD 1073 when I can and stay happy. As has been said
previously in this thread - if there are differences that humans can hear, they are pretty
darn small if we are still arguing about them and other factors should have much more
effect. I'll stick with the extra tracks and CPU thanks.
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jayzed
member
Joined: 19/03/04
Posts: 846
Loc: North London
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: jayzed]
#634089 - 06/07/08 11:34 AM
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Oh, yes. While we are handing out compliments, I have Hugh Robjohns (and Paul White,
despite the 'buss' travesty) from SOS on my favourite authors list on Myspace. I've been
reading you guys for coming up to 20 years now. Keep it up, Mr Robjohns, I get enormous
pleasure in reading your articles every month. Seeing HR, PW or Martin Walker on the
byline makes me feel like I'm listening to old friends.
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: jayzed]
#634091 - 06/07/08 11:52 AM
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Quote JohnnyT:
...where Paul
Lehrman (one of Mr Robjohns' peers in the audio journalism world I believe) talks about a
study that points to higher sampling rates not really making a noticable difference.
In theory, it shouldn't make any
difference. If you accept that we humans really can't hear anything above about 20kHz (and
the majority of evidence supports that premise), then any sampling system that captures
and reproduces audio up to 20kHz should be perfectly adequate, and sampling at a higher
rate to capture a wider bandwidth shouldn't sound any different.
However, the
real world is a tad more complex as there are a lot of variables to consider. It was
certainly the case a decade or two ago that the anti-aliasing and reconstruction filters
were imperfect and had an audible effect. Sampling at a higher rate removed the audibility
of the filters, and hence many claimed higher rate sampling was better. It was -- but
because of filter imperfections, not higher sample rates per se.
There is also
the issue of JF intermodulation to consider. There is a lot of ultrasonic noise in our
modern world that we humans are not aware of because we can't hear it -- yet if the
electronic equipment (analogue or digital) suffers non-linearities intermodulation can
result and new audible signals can be created. Again, a decade or two ago, higher sample
rate systems tended to suffer less from this than lower sample rate systems, but
technology has moved on and it is much less of an issue now. So again, there is negligable
sonic difference between standard and higher rate sampling systems.
Another
aspect was the clocking precision and jitter. To work at all, higher sample rate systems
have to have a very precise clock and a while back these tended to be better than systems
that only operated at standard rates. But as technology and design experience has matured,
clocking is no longer the challenge it once was, and so the differnece between standard
and high sample rate systems has diminished.
But myths and ideas persist for
decades in the audio industry -- people are very slow to change their ideas and update
their beliefs, which is why these old chestnuts keep coming around and around.
Quote:
I imagine people like
Mr Robjohns have much more opportunity to test these things than I do but after reading
the article above I'm going to stick to 44.1 and use oversampling plugs like the UAD 1073
when I can and stay happy.
I
think that is a very sensible and pragmatic approach to take -- assuming you have
reasonably modern and well designed converters. Personally, I will continue to make the
majority of my source recordings at 96kHz simply because most are stereo and very few
involve more than eight tracks, the equipment I have makes it easy to do without penalty,
and it makes sense from a maximal quality archive point of view. But I don't break down at
the thought of recording projects at 44.1 or 48 -- and I do both frequently, and if a
project is going to involve a lot of source tracks, then 44.1 or 48 is way more mangeable
and uber-quality is generally less of an issue because it would normally mean I was into
close miking and DIs and all that.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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dmills
Joined: 25/08/06
Posts: 2130
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634102 - 06/07/08 12:33 PM
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
However, the real world is a tad more complex as there are a lot of variables to
consider. It was certainly the case a decade or two ago that the anti-aliasing and
reconstruction filters were imperfect and had an audible effect. Sampling at a higher rate
removed the audibility of the filters, and hence many claimed higher rate sampling was
better.
This is still
sort of the case with the vast majority of oversampled ADCs as the decimation filters are
more often then not half band designs which are only -3db at 0.5FS. They fall off quickly,
but that 0.05FS window is sufficient to make ultrasonic rich sources sound unnatural. This
is aggravated by the outputs of many electronic instruments containing a lot of ultrasonic
hash from the noise shaping used in the DACs (Building competent post filters costs
money).
The fix is easy, run the ADC output at 96Khz, add an analogue filter
going over at 25 or 30Khz, and resample the output of the ADC with a correctly designed
decimating filter in the software....
Of course doing this is a trade off as
it adds noise (the extra electronics), adds latency (the additional FIR resampler) and
adds CPU and IO load. You could of course put a small cpu (or modest gate array) in the
ADC box itself to do this final downsample correctly there at which point the apparent
output will be at 44.1/48 without the problem, but nobody that I know in the prosumer card
market does this.
Regards, Dan.
-------------------- Audiophiles use phono leads because they are unbalanced people!
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jayzed
member
Joined: 19/03/04
Posts: 846
Loc: North London
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634114 - 06/07/08 01:12 PM
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I really like the last two posts. I'm not very convinced by subjective statements but the
mention of JT inteference, the explanations of ultra-sonic complications within electrical
systems and the non-human hearing based ideas make sense to me. Of course, all things need
to be equal and it makes sense that equipment designed to work well at the higher rates
should logically work better when not pushed as hard. The fact that many plug-ins do not
oversample internally may also mean a better result when working with them at higher
rates. If I seem a little anti high rates, then I'm sorry. I do think we need to find out
why there are many reports from trusted sources saying that high rates are better, and if
it's not the recorded sound itself then what it is that results in the better quality. I'm
actually very interested in using 96K soon (I'm about to do some location sound for video
and I'm going to use my M-Audio recorder at 96 as an experiment) but I've been burned with
new concepts before - I have yet to be asked to mix or record anything in 5.1, despite
spending a couple of grand on a monitoring setup and making sure everything I have is 5.1
capable. I realise this is a different type of issue but it has made me sceptical! As I
said, I will continue to use 44.1 for multitrack until such time as I have excess CPU
cycles and hard-disk space and the rest of my audio path is good enough. Or until someone
can show me, either in a good demonstration or via a good study that it is worth it for
me.
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dmills
Joined: 25/08/06
Posts: 2130
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634120 - 06/07/08 01:52 PM
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I would tend to concur with your scepticism, as I suspect that the cases where 96K sounds
better are really papering over the cracks in poorly implemented hardware or software (And
there is an awful lot of it out there).
It is not that hard to do right, but
it will always cost more (extra electronics for hardware, more CPU load for plugins), and
the headline SNR specs for hardware will be slightly worse then they would have been with
it done wrong. Unfortunately the benefits are not always obvious, especially
on a spec sheet as the frequency response and SNR are worse in the box done right then
they are in the one without the extra filters, and most marketing runs on specs, not real
world performance.
Regards, Dan.
-------------------- Audiophiles use phono leads because they are unbalanced people!
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Henry-S
member
Joined: 11/07/04
Posts: 937
Loc: UK, Cornwall
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634126 - 06/07/08 02:07 PM
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The topic is so complicated and really the only thing which matters is that you either use
44.1/48 or 88.2/96 and you hopefully try and record whatever you are trying to record
well. Guitars Amps, Bass Cabs, Singers, Drums.... if not recorded well... who cares if it
was recorded at 192 because it ends up being 44.1 anyway and is still crap  I think if you record at the source well, and capture what you want then regardless if
it was recorded at 44.1 or 88.1 it is going to sound good. I just feel sorry
for Hugh's fingers... his keyboard must be dented from all that typing
-------------------- There is nothing Grim about this Reaper
We Fell From The Sky
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passerrby3141
Joined: 21/12/07
Posts: 142
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634133 - 06/07/08 02:44 PM
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This thread should be a sticky, along with a thread about multi track recording
connections and equipment.
I record at 96khz lately, mostly for the lower
latency I can get with my M Audio AP192 used as monitor with VST effects path digitally
connected to my EMU 1212M through SPDIF connections.
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dmills
Joined: 25/08/06
Posts: 2130
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Henry-S]
#634146 - 06/07/08 03:23 PM
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Quote Henry-S:
The topic is so
complicated and really the only thing which matters is that you either use 44.1/48 or
88.2/96 and you hopefully try and record whatever you are trying to record well.
Well, sort of....
But it
has always seemed to me that if you want to be able to consider yourself an engineer as
opposed to a technician, then you really need to understand how your tools work and the
hairy edge cases where your tools stop behaving ideally and collide with the real world
(And how to fix it when it happens)! This is not really all that complex, compared
to say grade 8 music theory!
There is a place for both skill sets of course,
and I am well aware that I am far better at system design and implementation then I am at
using that system to a creative end, my stuff does not hum, and you can use GSM phones
around it with impunity, but my mixing skills (for studio based music) are still a work in
progress (Live is different, mostly because good enough now is better then perfect in 3
weeks).
Regards, Dan.
-------------------- Audiophiles use phono leads because they are unbalanced people!
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Interweaved
Joined: 02/06/08
Posts: 64
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634161 - 06/07/08 04:32 PM
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
Oh dear... It appears that you don't understand the Nyqusit theorem. Can I respectfully
suggest you read <a href="/sos/feb08/articles/digitalaudio.htm"
target="_blank">this article</a> which will go some way to explaining the
process. Or the Lavry article cited above.
Eh, I know well what the theorem states... I'm stating that these
guys are over-stating the results of the theorem. Believe me, I sat there at the same
university Nyquist got his PhD at arguing with some well established physics professor,
who was a great hobbyist with accoustics and these things, the same point I'm arguing with
you.
See, if F is the frequency you're interested in, 2F is necessary in order
to avoid aliasing. 2F won't give you a 100% accurate reproduction of the original wave
though.
Say you're interested in recording from 0 to 22 kHz... A) If you
record at 44kHz, you won't get aliasing. Aliasing makes extra noises where they don't
belong. B) If you record at 44kHz, you won't get a 100% perfect reproduction of all
signals in the 0 to 22 kHz range.
People who think that A) implies a "perfect
reproduction" (of the 0-22kHz range) aren't thinking this through and don't seem to
understand that sometimes results get overstated.
I could actually prove what
I'm saying with my equipment, but I'm sure you'd still say I was wrong because you
believed the overstatement of the theorem.
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_Nuno_
Joined: 20/05/06
Posts: 804
Loc: Cork, Ireland
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634164 - 06/07/08 04:49 PM
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Quote Interweaved:
See, if F is the frequency you're interested in, 2F is necessary in order to avoid
aliasing.
And
there you just proved that you completely clueless about the whole matter.
It's sad that people that pick up a few key words from some forum come here and self
proclaim themselves as some kind of authority, even referencing supposed academic
credentials and then just go on to regurgitate a load of crap completely messing
themselves up in the procvess and possibly confusing a lot of people.
I hope
most people reading this forum understand that you don't know what you are talking about.
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James Perrett
Joined: 10/09/01
Posts: 9660
Loc: The wilds of Hampshire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634172 - 06/07/08 05:09 PM
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Interweaved - are you trying to argue that Nyquist and Shannon were wrong? Or are you
saying that current equipment falls short of perfection? And don't forget that
it is > rather than =. And while we're at it, don't ignore the filters. Cheers James.
-------------------- JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net
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Interweaved
Joined: 02/06/08
Posts: 64
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: James Perrett]
#634191 - 06/07/08 06:17 PM
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Quote James Perrett:
Interweaved
- are you trying to argue that Nyquist and Shannon were wrong? Or are you saying that
current equipment falls short of perfection?
And don't forget that it is >
rather than =. And while we're at it, don't ignore the filters.
Cheers
James.
My argument is that
people mis-interpret what the theorem does provide and what it doesn't.
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634192 - 06/07/08 06:25 PM
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Quote Interweaved:
Eh, I know
well what the theorem states... I'm stating that these guys are over-stating the results
of the theorem.
Eh? The
theorum defines the correct mathematical operation needed to achieve perfect sampling, the
correct application of which allows the source signal to be recreated perfectly. How can
that be overstated?
Quote:
See, if F is the frequency you're interested in, 2F is necessary in order to avoid
aliasing.
No, that is not
the case. For a start, the sample rate is related to the bandwidth of the source signal,
not just it's frequency... but ignoring that nicety for the moment, if F is the frequency
you are interested in, the sampling rate must be 2F+n, where n is sufficiently large to
enable the real-world filters to achieve the necessary attenuation of the unwanted
image(s).
Quote:
2F
won't give you a 100% accurate reproduction of the original wave though.
Absolutely. Which is why no practical audio
sampling system samples at 2F. So why are you harping on about something that isn't done,
isn't a problem, and isn't relevant?
Quote:
Say you're interested in recording from 0 to 22 kHz... A) If
you record at 44kHz, you won't get aliasing. Aliasing makes extra noises where they don't
belong.
That's debateable.
The bottom of the lower sideband will fall precisely on the top of the wanted audio, and
thus any wanted signal components at 22kHz won't be perfectly retrievable because of its
superimposed alias.
Quote:
B) If you record at 44kHz, you won't get a 100% perfect reproduction of all
signals in the 0 to 22 kHz range.
Obviously, because the sample rate isn't high enough and doesn't conform to the
Nyquist requirements.
Quote:
I could actually prove what I'm saying with my equipment, but I'm sure you'd still
say I was wrong because you believed the overstatement of the theorem.
Not at all. I could prove what you are
saying with my equipment too. But the point is that what you are arguing is NOT what the
theorum states. Nyquist and Shannon both state that the sample rate must be MORE THAN
twice the bandwidth of the wanted signals. Not equal to twice.
Nothing is
being overstated, but there does still seem to be some misunderstanding or confusion...
Hopefully you can now see where that error lies.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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Hugh Robjohns
SOS Technical Editor
Joined: 25/07/03
Posts: 18399
Loc: Worcestershire
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634194 - 06/07/08 06:27 PM
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Quote Interweaved:
My argument
is that people mis-interpret what the theorem does provide and what it doesn't.
They do indeed... and it is
categorically your good self that has misinterpreted it. Sad but true.
Hugh
-------------------- Technical Editor, Sound On Sound
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desmond
Joined: 10/01/06
Posts: 7903
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634197 - 06/07/08 06:39 PM
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
Nyquist and
Shannon both state that the sample rate must be MORE THAN twice the bandwidth of the
wanted signals. Not equal to twice.
May of us on this thread have stated this multiple times, and yet still
Interweaved goes "yeah, but when it's not more than twice the bandwidth, it doesn't
work".
We know. This is what the theory says. I don't understand what you are
debating...
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_Nuno_
Joined: 20/05/06
Posts: 804
Loc: Cork, Ireland
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: desmond]
#634200 - 06/07/08 06:47 PM
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Quote desmond:
Quote Hugh Robjohns:
Nyquist
and Shannon both state that the sample rate must be MORE THAN twice the bandwidth of the
wanted signals. Not equal to twice.
May of us on this thread have stated this multiple times, and yet still
Interweaved goes "yeah, but when it's not more than twice the bandwidth, it doesn't
work".
We know. This is what the theory says. I don't understand what you are
debating...
I think this is
what is usually called a troll?
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narcoman
active member
Joined: 14/08/01
Posts: 8469
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634204 - 06/07/08 06:56 PM
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
Quote Interweaved:
My argument
is that people mis-interpret what the theorem does provide and what it doesn't.
They do indeed... and it is
categorically your good self that has misinterpreted it. Sad but true.
Hugh
Ouch !
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Jonnypopisical
Joined: 16/07/05
Posts: 1078
Loc: London
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: narcoman]
#634205 - 06/07/08 06:58 PM
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To answer the original question the as is 44
-------------------- Mac Pro, Logic Pro, lots of software and 17 hard drives!
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Interweaved
Joined: 02/06/08
Posts: 64
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634207 - 06/07/08 07:01 PM
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Quote Hugh Robjohns:
Not at all. I could prove what you are saying with my equipment too. But the point is
that what you are arguing is NOT what the theorum states. Nyquist and Shannon both state
that the sample rate must be MORE THAN twice the bandwidth of the wanted signals. Not
equal to twice.
Nothing is being overstated, but there does still seem to be
some misunderstanding or confusion... Hopefully you can now see where that error lies.
Hugh
That doesn't
matter so much. MORE THAN yo mamma.
But, eh, you can record at your frequency,
I'll record at mine. (I actually am using 44, though, because there really isn't much
content in the upper frequencies in most music I'm doing).
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Sle
Joined: 21/07/05
Posts: 1057
Loc: UK
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634210 - 06/07/08 07:07 PM
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There's a bloke down the pub..
-------------------- Stuff what I done
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bbontempi
Joined: 09/10/05
Posts: 52
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634211 - 06/07/08 07:10 PM
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my homemade test 16 bits 44 khz http://motthieu.free.fr/freq/with-EQ-1644.aif24 bits 96
khz converted to 16 bits 44 khz http://motthieu.free.fr/freq/with-EQ-2496%20converted%20to%201644.aif<
br /> with my soundcard, Echo Audiofire 8, you'd better record at 96 khz. do the test
with your soundcard
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A Non O Miss
Joined: 07/02/08
Posts: 910
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Hugh Robjohns]
#634228 - 06/07/08 08:12 PM
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I like your answers...You are free to put me to shame any day Hugh, I always learn
something when you do.
I should really learn to stay out of these ones as I can
never compete with a lot of you guys and just end up looking stupid....
That
being said I still think I understand...somewhat....I just am absolutely terrible at
trying to take what is in my brain and put it into words that all you really smart people
can understand....Not only that like you say it is a very complicated subject and I
apologize if I appeared to be ranting or angry. I try and keep my place as much as
possible in here, which is at the bottom of the food chain.I really was only trying to
make a point and unfortunately sometimes you need to push a few buttons to do so...
p.s. For the record I hate to quote anybody directly out of context, and try and
refrain from doing so. I used that small quote from Katz because really, I would have had
to use 5 pages to make it make any sense
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Interweaved
Joined: 02/06/08
Posts: 64
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634240 - 06/07/08 08:54 PM
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Ok, here's a wave file of 18, 19, 20, and 21 kHz sine waves at 24 bit 192 kHz... you
should be able to play this back at different rates yourself and hear the difference. If you do not turn down your volume before listening to this file, I will laugh
when you come back here crying about it. http://www.soundupload.com/audio/davrr8p5utguaj7z
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Music Manic
active member
Joined: 20/12/02
Posts: 1890
Loc: London UK
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: A Non O Miss]
#634241 - 06/07/08 09:05 PM
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Quote Jocoserious:
I like your
answers...You are free to put me to shame any day Hugh, I always learn something when you
do.
I should really learn to stay out of these ones as I can never compete with
a lot of you guys and just end up looking stupid....
That being said I still
think I understand...somewhat....I just am absolutely terrible at trying to take what is
in my brain and put it into words that all you really smart people can understand....Not
only that like you say it is a very complicated subject and I apologize if I appeared to
be ranting or angry. I try and keep my place as much as possible in here, which is at the
bottom of the food chain.I really was only trying to make a point and unfortunately
sometimes you need to push a few buttons to do so...
p.s. For the record I hate
to quote anybody directly out of context, and try and refrain from doing so. I used that
small quote from Katz because really, I would have had to use 5 pages to make it make any
sense
Hey that sounds
familiar to someone I know.. 
People who aren't afraid to make mistakes learn the quickest.
Hugh's only
chink in his armour is that he doesn't know how us stupid people think.
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Music Manic
active member
Joined: 20/12/02
Posts: 1890
Loc: London UK
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: AngryMonkney]
#634242 - 06/07/08 09:11 PM
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Aren't we getting bogged down into talking about a part of a whole thing?
If
Hugh says that 96k can help emulate analogue EQs in a way that deals with the high
frequencies, is this then a mathematical side to the processing argument as opposed to the
"sampling" process of capturing an audio signal, which is mechanical?
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Music Manic
active member
Joined: 20/12/02
Posts: 1890
Loc: London UK
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Re: Should I record at 44 or 96khz?
[Re: Interweaved]
#634243 - 06/07/08 09:15 PM
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Quote Interweaved:
Ok, here's a
wave file of 18, 19, 20, and 21 kHz sine waves at 24 bit 192 kHz... you should be able to
play this back at different rates yourself and hear the difference.
If you do
not turn down your volume before listening to this file, I will laugh when you come back
here crying about it.
http://www.soundupload.com/audio/davrr8p5utguaj7z
First impressions......
Sounded
very clear and crisp (over laptop) speakers.
Would be good if you processed
some cymbals with EQ to give as an idea of differences.
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