2. pc-audio
  3. 1227767213

16 Bit vs. 24 Bit for Mac OSX

Can a Mac, or specifically an IMac, be configured for 16bit 44.1khz via USB?

I've an IMac 20 that I'm using with a Benchmark DAC1. I've noticed the following -

When opening up the Midi/Audio Interface Application and selecting "Built in Input" and setting it to 16/44.1, it appears it's sending 16/44.1 to my DAC. I'm well familiar with the sound of 16/44.1 compared to 24/44.1 from my experience with my PC using Foobar, and the sound appears to be 16 bit coming from the IMac. When I select the Benchmark Dac1 under "Output Device Settings" in the Midi, the IMac then appears to revert to 24/44.1, as is set under the output device options.

My curiousity is that the Midi setting is for "Built in Input" not output. Further, the output settings are still 24/44.1 with the Benchmark as the default output device, I've only selected the Input settings options to change them. Am I confusing anything here? When the input settings are chosen, no output settings are listed at all within the menu, so there's nothing to alter there unless I go back to the pulldown menu and select the output device again.

Sorry if I'm not explaining this well, but basically I've found 16/44.1 to be preferrable for redbook lossless. I'm not a big fan of the extra sound stage and bloom that 24/44.1 offers over the original 16bit source material as it's recorded.

Steve (Audioengr), if you catch this post, you suggested setting Output on the Mac to 24/44.1 for true bit perfect. But when I select Input device and set it to 16/44.1, it definitely sounds like 16 bit and to my ears appears to be bit perfect as well.
mb9061

Showing 3 responses by shadorne

shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Benchmark have a wiki page on this - have you checked there? 16 bit or 24 bit should make no difference in sound (just adds eight 0's)UNLESS you are using digital volume control or digital EQ (quite likely)- in this case how the software handles the bits and the number of bit can be very important - especially at low volumes - more bits is more accurate and it is also important to dither after digital attentuation.

There are also a number of bugs with iTunes - so check carefully which version is acceptable. PC audio is a bit of a minefield.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
To the first post, 24 bit and 16 bit make a difference. It did on my laptop using foobar and changing the foobar setting from 16 to 24 and back.

If the original data is redbook and this makes a difference then it is likely digital volume control or digital EQ or some other manipulation which is making an audble difference. A software bug is a possiblity too.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,467 posts
 
If 24 bits is 16 bits with 8 extra zeros then there should be NO difference as there is no additional information. Something else in the software must be causing the difference. FWIW - as a general rule it is best to always use 24 bit s- this helps minimize processing errors from digital volume control and EQ.
More to discover