Reference Manual

CHAPTER 31. AUDIO FACT SHEET 520
sample rate that you plan to use in Live, the les can be imported without any loss of quality.
Rendering audio from Live with a sampling rate other than the one that was used while
working on the project is also a non-neutral operation, and may result in a loss of sound
quality. It is recommended to always render using the original sampling rate, and then
convert the rendered le using a dedicated mastering application that is optimized for
these kinds of CPU-intensive, ofine tasks.
While we recommend that you use a high-quality ofine tool for sample rate conversion,
we recognize that one of Live's core features is its ability to pitch-shift and warp audio in
real time. For this situation, it is necessary to make a trade-off between CPU performance
and precision. We recommend the use of the Hi-Q button for any clips which undergo
transposition in a given Set. The algorithm behind the Hi-Q switch was rewritten for Live 7,
and now results in considerably lower distortion than in previous versions.
31.3.3 Volume Automation
Automation of volume level results in a change in gain, which is necessarily a non-neutral
operation. But certain implementations of automation envelopes can result in audible
artifacts, particularly if the envelopes are not calculated at a fast enough rate. Since Live 7,
volume automation curves are updated for each audio sample, resulting in extremely low
levels of distortion.
31.3.4 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.