people need to stop throwing this word around.

In the pream thread, some guy said analog has more headroom. Headroom is defined by a dB range above a set point which could be say 9 dBfs or 24 dbfs

REgardless of where you set the standard, digitial has a greater dynamic range, and thus a greater headroom if you calibrate your lelves properly. ANalog does not give you mnore space. It has less space.

Euro post is 18 dBfs = 0 VU
American is 20 dBfs = 0 vu

the point is that it doesn't really matter, digital will always have more dynamic range.
non consumer tape - 90 dB
vinyl limit about 80
24 bit la little bit under 144
16 bit a little bit under 96

the conversion process shaves a few dB from the dynamic range but ya, analog does not have more headroom.

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I thought 24bit was 124db

Not that it'd make a difference

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I always thought headroom was the space between your head and the top of your top hat. As in "There's way too many eggs here for me to carry, can I put some of them in your headroom?".

quote:

Originally posted by dj_alfi I always thought headroom was the space between your head and the top of your top hat. As in "There's way too many eggs here for me to carry, can I put some of them in your headroom?".

wait it was me who said more headroom oh well

quote:

Originally posted by tehlord I thought 24bit was 124db Not that it'd make a difference

Well theoretically 144 but because of the conversion process ie dithering to turn the steps into a straight line, the actual range is less hence why i said a bit less. Again there is no real direct relation between dB and bit depth as dB is a relative value but ya, that will just complicate things.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

wrong, pure analogue has the awesome power of quality and stability

Not sure f you are joking but you've sad some stupid shit so I wI'll assume you aren't. The very nature of what makes analog pleasant is its unstability and non linear qualities.

___________________
"This is why Superman works alone." GC
old stuff from days gone by (2001-2004)
Mad For Brad's gay little contest

yeah I'm joking but i still love analogue power

Nice post and I'm of the same opinion about the term being thrown around all the time and more often than not, they've got it backwards as you mention.


This was actually the topic my question in the Engineering Trivia Thread: Analogue tape actually only has a true Dynamic range of 10 bits or 60db - everything above that point is technically colouration or harmonic distortion.

So even 16bit digital systems have close to 30db more of usable dynamic range.

24bit is indeed 144db of theoretical dynamic range but in real world application you'll never get any higher 124db or roughly 21bit.

With this in mind it seems utterly crazy that digital systems have far more available dynamic range potential then ever before but the average song compared to days of tape has less dynamic range in terms of content.

On the topic of post standards, most studios working for film (not TV, that's a different story) either in the USA or Europe actually use -18dbfs calibration. I have a feeling the -20dbfs will slowly become redundant.

quote:

Originally posted by DJ RANN Nice post and I'm of the same opinion about the term being thrown around all the time and more often than not, they've got it backwards as you mention. This was actually the topic my question in the Engineering Trivia Thread: Analogue tape actually only has a true Dynamic range of 10 bits or 60db - everything above that point is technically colouration or harmonic distortion. So even 16bit digital systems have close to 30db more of usable dynamic range. 24bit is indeed 144db of theoretical dynamic range but in real world application you'll never get any higher 124db or roughly 21bit. With this in mind it seems utterly crazy that digital systems have far more available dynamic range potential then ever before but the average song compared to days of tape has less dynamic range in terms of content. On the topic of post standards, most studios working for film (not TV, that's a different story) either in the USA or Europe actually use -18dbfs calibration. I have a feeling the -20dbfs will slowly become redundant.

I find myself more and more interested in this stuff.

Does this mean i'm just going to make less music, but just talk about the fact that I know all this information that I no longer use?

And btw, did you get the response to that stellar PM you sent me last week? Don't want you to think I ignored it!

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quote:

Originally posted by tehlord I find myself more and more interested in this stuff. Does this mean i'm just going to make less music, but just talk about the fact that I know all this information that I no longer use? And btw, did you get the response to that stellar PM you sent me last week? Don't want you to think I ignored it!

Yes, lol. The engineering stuff like this is useful at the decision making points but not at all really in ongoing workflow, so honestly, I'd concentrate more on the creation and less on the tech. Probably, why I'm an engineer and not really an producer

And yes, mate, got the response let me know if you need any other help and would love to hear the finished article.