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Author Topic: sample rate debate  (Read 9171 times)

Adam Miller

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sample rate debate
« on: December 08, 2009, 07:59:55 AM »

Now... I find talking about sample rates as tedious as the next man... I'm just slightly intrigued as to why most people seem to working at 48k. What are you gaining?

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Miguel M.

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #1 on: December 08, 2009, 08:49:37 AM »

I notice an improvement while working at 48 kHz mainly because some plug-ins sound better at this sample rate. They also sound better at 96 kHz but that's too much disk space and cpu usage.

And, i'm not 100% sure about this so please someone chime in and confirm it (or not), but i've read that most AD and DA on the market are internally designed to work at 48kHz and it's multiples values (96 kHz, 192kHz).
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j.hall

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #2 on: December 08, 2009, 03:54:43 PM »

Adam Miller wrote on Tue, 08 December 2009 06:59

Now... I find talking about sample rates as tedious as the next man... I'm just slightly intrigued as to why most people seem to working at 48k. What are you gaining?

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more resolution.
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Rob Darling

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2009, 04:29:45 PM »

There is no more "resolution" when increasing  the sample rate of a recording, only increased bandwidth.

The difference between 44.1 and 48k is inaudible in a well-designed convertor.  It will shift artifacts only slightly.  You will be increasing the max frequency recorded from 22k to 24k, only a small part of an octave at this frequency.  

That said, in lesser devices with heavy artifacting, shifting artifacts a little MAY be audible since different frequencies will be aliased and will re-enter at different places, though I haven't found a piece of gear on which it was audible in a really, really long time.

I offer this story as an example which illuminates the value of increasing sample rate:

I once was called in to put together a country studio for one of my clients.  He was doing a new record that would be very, very acoustic in what was to be a gorgeous room and was curious about doing it at 88.2.

I told him it definitely made a difference as the tracks stacked up and as you began applying eq and dynamics, but that it would be a major commitment since this was before PT HD and it would require using Nuendo and host-based recording.

Armed with this info, he went to his producer and engineer on the record, a team that had worked together for 20+ years- on the same records, made in the rooms, with the same gear, on the same monitoring, every day for a couple decades.

They had two totally different responses:

One said absolutely, it made a difference, the other said no way, it wasn't worth it, hogwash.

I was a little mystified, because in every way, these guys hear the same and think with one brain.

When I began talking to them, I found the difference:

One had evaluated high-res on super-badass convertors, on two-track material.  He had found only subtle improvement.

The other had evaluated high-res on some fairly cheap stuff, transferring multi-track and trying to mix.  He'd found a huge difference between working with the 44.1 and 88.2 transfers.

So the ideas are:

Nyquist being what it is, phase shift and aliasing are necessary aspects of digital recording.

Recording at increased sample rates pushes the artifacting of these phenomenons out-of-band, above where we hear.

Cheap convertors benefit greatly by this.

Great convertors benefit less.

As you get more tracks and manipulate them, the benefits become more apparent- as you eq and compress, you work against the artifacts at 1x, but at 2x or higher, the artifacts will be out of band.  It's easier to get a smoother, more "analog" mix when working at high sample rates.  EQ and compression take hold much more naturally without feeling like they add so much bite.

YMMV, but working at a 48 over 44.1 won't sound better, though it might sound a little different on lesser gear.  You will still have in-band aliasing and phase shift, it will just be different since aliasing is not musical (think ring-modulator) and will give different artifacts.

Working at 48k, in general, for music, is a bad idea.  It CONSTANTLY leads to confusion and problems since most people by default work at 44.1... witness the number of mixes that still come in on IMP at the wrong speed:)  

And while shifting from 44.1 to 48 for your samplerate in record/mix will only make your aliasing different, applying SRC is truly destructive- it is just adding another eq to everything.

-rob darling


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Josh McArdle

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2009, 04:59:47 PM »

I work at 1million bit/26000 kHz and I can definitely hear the difference through my Behringer Eurodesk.

...

Rob, thanks for the explanation. Personally I couldn't tell the difference between 44.1 and 48, but I don't have uber-ears yet...FWIW I tend to stick with 44.1 for most things, just makes life slightly easier when the band wants a CD at 4 o'clock in the morning Smile

I haven't yet experimented with anything above 48k, but this all makes me very interested to try it out...
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jetbase

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2009, 05:51:39 PM »

I use Prism converters for ADC & an Alesis HD24 for DAC (as well as additional ADC). The HD24's clock is much more stable at 48kHz than it is at 44.1kHz. Even when clocked off the Prism everything sounds better, IMO, at 48kHz in my setup, including after final SRC to 44.1kHz.
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Seb Riou

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #6 on: December 09, 2009, 02:17:59 PM »

Anti aliasing filter set 2kHz further.
As it may be the weakest point in the converter, the further the better for me.
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KB_S1

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #7 on: December 09, 2009, 04:43:10 PM »

Seb RIOU wrote on Wed, 09 December 2009 19:17

Anti aliasing filter set 2kHz further.
As it may be the weakest point in the converter, the further the better for me.



This is what I have heard from most digital design guys, including the Prism man.
Unfortunately CD is stuck with its format and filters I believe?
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Seb Riou

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #8 on: December 10, 2009, 02:29:12 AM »

Yes, but chances are your mastering engineer (hence the use of a mastering studio) have superior quality converters with superior analog stage and superior filter quality, so I'd leave him/her with the tricky reduction to 44,1 (not even speaking of dithering to 16 bits)
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Rob Darling

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #9 on: December 10, 2009, 05:39:23 AM »

Seb RIOU wrote on Wed, 09 December 2009 19:17

Anti aliasing filter set 2kHz further. the further the better for me.


Moving the passband 2k higher does not move the artifacting out of band in the case of 48k- it just makes it different from 44.1.

All of the phase shift and aliasing of 48k will still be in the audible area.

It will be different frequencies being aliased and they will be introduced at different frequencies from 44.1, but there will be just as much aliasing at 48k as there is at 44.1.

Moving to 88.2 will move aliasing and phase shift out of your audible range.

Moving to 48k will not.

Moving to 48k may be something that sounds different from 44.1, but any preference you have is only subjective.  You have not changed any amount of aliasing or phase shift in changing from 44.1 to 48.

Working at 48k for music when the final destination is 44.1 and CD is a bad idea.  

It often creates confusion.

It will require an additional destructive step of sample rate converting from 48 to 44.1 and fixes nothing, it only changes the tone of the problem.

-rob darling


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Seb Riou

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #10 on: December 10, 2009, 07:03:02 AM »

That's why I record and mix at 88,2

but if I HAVE to work at lower rate, I'd take 48kHz

Call me stubborn
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NelsonL

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #11 on: December 10, 2009, 08:18:45 AM »

IMP sample rate errors are funny, but if your ME pulls that on you... run.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but SRC seems moot if your mastering with an analog chain or printing your mixes to tape, as I prefer to do.

In either of those cases, your ME may or may not SRC, depending on their work flow. In every case, they'll do what they think sounds the best-- as should we all.
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grantis

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #12 on: December 11, 2009, 11:21:36 AM »

I understand the "no debate-what sample rate" thread is noise free....so....

I'm somewhat surprised to see how many people are working at 24/88.2.  Personally, I believe it does sound slightly more "open" and the picture is a bit more "complete" at 88.2.

Unfortunately....my handy editing tool...the Mbox Micro.... only runs at 48k.  Otherwise I'd be running at 88.2 as well.

I'm curious to know....of those folks who are running 88.2, what hardware are you using?  PTHD?  PTLE with a monster machine?  Something else?

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Seb Riou

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #13 on: December 12, 2009, 02:05:41 PM »

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Nick Sevilla

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Re: sample rate debate
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2009, 02:12:06 PM »

Thanks for all the great info.

On my next album I will record at 88.2 KHz / 24 bit. I do have 2 internal 15,000 rpm 320 GB Raptor hard drives on my Mac Pro, so I should be fine with hard disk bandwidth.

And it will probably be an all acoustic album in which I'll push the system not very much, by utilizing microphones and outboard to get the bulk of the sound, and mixing with less plug-ins afterwards.

The Final Masters I will keep at 88.2KHz / 24 bit and allow the Mastering Engineer the final sample rate and bit rate reduction.

Cheers
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