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Topic: XLD Output wav dither (Read 4383 times) previous topic - next topic
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XLD Output wav dither

I want to convert a 48KHz 24bit wav to a 44.1KHz 16 bit file using XLD. When adjusting the options and setting the bit depth to 16, is dither applied? I can do it externally using other software, but just wondering could this be an all-in-one solution.

Thanks

Re: XLD Output wav dither

Reply #1 –
I don't know, but I doubt it.    Does it sound dithered?   :P

...At 16-bits you can't hear dither (or the effects of dither) under any normal-reasonable listening conditions so does it really matter? 



Re: XLD Output wav dither

Reply #2 –
If it doesn't dither it will just truncate those 8 bits and that could add distortion or affect fidelity.

Pity, that would have been handy if it did dither. :'(

Re: XLD Output wav dither

Reply #4 –
Quote
If it doesn't dither it will just truncate those 8 bits and that could add distortion or affect fidelity.
And dither is NOISE.   (But you're right - dither is theoretically preferable to truncation.)

You've already accepted the fact that you are going to downsample to 44.1kHz and reduce the bit depth to 16-bits so "mathematical perfection" is out of the question.   But, I would expect "audible perfection" in an ABX test, dithered or not.

FYI - SoX is known for having a very good resampling algorithm and I'd assume it also has an excellent dither algorithm.   Or if you prefer a GUI application Audacity has a couple of choices for it's resampling and dithering algorithms.

Re: XLD Output wav dither

Reply #5 –
> ...At 16-bits you can't hear dither (or the effects of dither) under any normal-reasonable listening conditions so does it really matter? 

in some places, if you know where to pay attention and listen very loud (just a little bit less than painful level),
whenever there are quiet clear tones without much noise already existing in record, simple rounding will add distortion that can be heard.
this probably doesn't count as normal listening conditions, but I'd rather be able to listen that way too if I ever want to - why not if I can.
also dithering doesn't inflate lossless-compressed file sizes too much, so there isn't anything that you lose by choosing to use it.
a fan of AutoEq + Meier Crossfeed