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Hi all,

Can someone please explain the difference between triangular and rectangular dithering.
Which is most efficient when going from a 24 bit master take down to 16 bits for CD mastering?
Is one more 'sonically friendly' than the other?

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knightfly Sun, 04/21/2002 - 00:36

Hi Kasim - The short answer is that while rectangular dither gives a slightly lower (about 1-1/2 dB) noise floor, triangular dither is perceived to be more sonically pleasing.

The long answer would be plagiarism, because the preceding was my paraphrasing of pages 42-46 of Ken Pohlmann's book, "Principles of Digital Audio" -

Just so you understand that I "only know where a few of the rocks are" and can't really walk on water, I just got the book from Amazon.com last week, mainly to further my own research on the value of high sample rate converters for my particular situation. If you have the time to read 738 pages of deep but followable writing on the subject of digital audio, I would highly recommend it. (This after reading about 1-1/2 chapters) The book costs about $56, and is by all reports the definitive work on the subject.

Hope this helps - you might also check out the thread

(Dead Link Removed)

Also, Bob Katz' site has some free mind blowers that will either delight or scare you, here

http://www.digido.com/

I tried to give options for however shallow or deep you want to go - Hope it was helpful... Steve

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