Operation Manual
CHAPTER 24. LIVE 7 AUDIO FACT SHEET 330
24.3.4 Dithering
Whenever rendering audio to a lower bit depth, it is a good idea to apply dithering in order
to minimize artifacts. Dithering (a kind of very low-level noise) is inherently a non-neutral
procedure, but it is a necessary evil when lowering the bit resolution.
Please note that Live's internal signal processing is all 32-bit, so applying even a single gain
change makes the resulting audio 32-bit as well even if the original audio is 16- or 24-bit.
Dither should never be applied more than once to any given audio le, so unless you are
mastering and nalizing in Live, it is best to always render at 32-bit and avoid dithering
altogether.
24.3.5 Recording external signals (bit depth < A/D converter)
Recording audio signals into Live is a non-neutral operation if the bit depth set in Live's
Preferences window is lower than that of the A/D converters used for the recording. This is
not recommended.
24.3.6 Recording internal sources below 32 bit
Audio that is recorded via internal routing will lose quality if the recording is made at
a bit depth below 32 bits. To ensure neutral recordings of plug-in instruments and any
audio signals that are being processed by effects plug-ins, internal recording at 32 bits is
recommended. Please note, however, that if the source audio is already at a lower bit depth,
internal recording at that bit depth will also be neutral (assuming that no effects are used);
internally recording an unprocessed 16 bit audio le at 32 bits will not increase the sound
quality.
24.3.7 Consolidate
Consolidating clips in the Arrangement View creates new audio les, which are non-neutral
in comparison to the original audio data. Specically, the new les will be normalized, with
their clip volumes adjusted to play back at the same volume as heard prior to consolidation.