Instruction Manual

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System Configuration
Improving Audio Performance
• SONAR 4 does not play back projects that contain files with different bit
depths (SONAR 5 and 6 do), so if you want to open a multiple bit depth
project in SONAR 4, see the following procedure or a conversion
procedure.
To Rewrite Audio Files at Different Bit Depths
1. Use the Tools-Change Audio Format command to open the Change
Audio Format dialog.
2. Choose a new bit depth in the New Bit Depth field.
3. If you’re changing to 16 bits, you can check or uncheck the Apply Dither
checkbox. Dithering means to add a certain audio signal to 16 bit audio
to make it sound more like it did as a higher-bit signal.
4. Click OK.
SONAR rewrites the audio tracks in your project at the new bit depth.
Bit Depths for Recording
You can choose the bit depth of newly-recorded files in SONAR, and you
can change this value at any time. The Status Bar shows the project
sampling rate and the current record bit depth setting.
The choices for the recording bit depth setting are 16, 24, 32, and 64. At
present, no devices can record at 32-bit or 64-bit resolution, so you don’t
need to choose these options yet. 24-bit files give greater dynamic range
than 16-bit files, so 24 is a good choice for music that gets very soft, as well
as loud. 16-bit recording is efficient for many recording projects, especially
louder projects.
To Choose a Recording Bit Depth
1. Use the Options-Global command to open the Global Options dialog.
2. On the Audio Data tab, under File Bit Depths, change the Record Bit
Depth field to the desired number.
3. Click OK.
Bit Depths for Importing Audio
You can choose the bit depth of imported files in SONAR, and you can also
import files at their current bit depth. You can import files at bit depths as
high as 64. Because SONAR can play projects that contain files of different
bit depths, you don’t have to convert 16-bit files to 24 bits to play them with
other 24-bit files, saving significant storage space.