Reference Guide

1184 Improving audio performance
System configuration
Sampling rates
SONAR supports all common sampling rates. Only one sampling rate is allowed per project. It’s
usually better not to change the sampling rate of a project, because this involves exporting your
tracks one at a time, and then importing them at the new sampling rate. During this process you lose
clip boundaries, envelopes, and other separate data that is mixed into the exported tracks.
To set the sampling rate for new projects
1. Go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver Settings and change the Sampling Rate field to the
desired number. You can choose from the available options, or enter any number that your
hardware supports.
2. Click OK.
To change the sampling rate of a project
1. Select an audio track and use the File > Export Audio command to open the Export Audio
dialog box.
2. Select the options you want, and click Export to export the track.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all the audio tracks you want to convert.
4. After you have exported all the tracks you want to convert, go to Edit > Preferences > Audio -
Driver Settings and change the Sampling Rate field to the desired number.
5. Use the File > New command to open a new project.
6. Use the File > Import > Audio command to open the Import Audio dialog box.
7. Select the audio files you just exported (hold down the CTRL key while you click each one), and
click Open to import the files.
SONAR imports the selected files at the new sampling rate.
To import audio that has a different sampling rate
•Use the File > Import > Audio command to import the audio file(s) (this converts them to the
project sampling rate).
Bit depths and float resolution
SONAR supports all common bit depths, including 64. SONAR’s 32-bit mixing provides full floating-
point resolution for extended dynamic range, and precise audio processing. For maximum dynamic
range and precision, you can also choose 64-bit mixing (go to Edit > Preferences > Audio - Driver
Settings and select the 64-bit Double Precision Engine check box). SONAR can import, export,
play back, and render 64-bit float files.
A SONAR project can contain files of different bit depths. You can specify different bit depths for
playing back, recording, importing, exporting, and rendering audio (bouncing, freezing, applying
effects). To play back or record at a specific bit depth, your sound card must support that bit depth.
Notes about 64-bit files: