Imagine you had an audio file recorded at 24 bit with a sample rate of 96000 times per second. An audio CD has 16 bits of data and is processed 44,100 times per second.ĭithering audio is the process of smoothly converting a higher bit rate and faster sampled file to a lower one. Again, the higher the sample rate the higher quality the audio file will be. Sample rate refers to the speed at which the digital audio is processed per second. There is simply more data within a higher bit rate file. Thus higher bits rates equate to higher quality audio files. The more bits available, the more voltage dynamic range there will be. Bits allow the computer to measure the voltage variances. This Digital audio is measured primarily in 2 ways, bits and sample rate.īits are the simplest form of this digital information and are needed for any computer to make sense of it all. The computer is essentially reproducing an audio wave by measuring voltage peaks and valleys. In digital audio this process is replaced by ones and zeros. When we hear sound naturally, bones in our ears convert the audio vibration to recognizable tones. However, I am going to take a slightly simpler approach as we deal with dithering audio. I know some of you enjoy the science behind it all. Let me attempt (and hopefully achieve) to make this simple yet critical process easy to understand. One that may make you feel as though you need a master's degree to understand it. Look up the word dither on Wikipedia and you'll get a seemingly confusing article. One of the most obscure questions in the home music studio is related to dithering audio.