Reference Guide

1185
System configuration
Improving audio performance
• 64-bit files can now be imported at their native 64-bit depth.
• At playback time 64-bit files are streamed at full 64-bit resolution when the Double Precision
engine is turned on.
• At playback time 64-bit files are converted to 32-bit when the Double Precision engine is turned
off.
• 64-bit is a choice in the File Import dialog box.
• 64-bit is a choice in the Edit > Preferences > File - Audio Data file bit depth fields.
• Bounce-to-track now renders at 64-bit if the render bit depth is set to 64.
• You can save and load .cwb files containing any combination of 16/24/32/64 and stereo/mono
wave files.
To find the bit depth of clips in a project
Do one of the following:
• Right-click a clip, choose Associated Audio Files on the pop-up menu, and examine the Bit
Depth column.
•Go to Project > Audio Files command to open the Project Files dialog box, and examine the Bit
Depth column.
The following topics show you how and why to choose bit depths for various operations.
See:
“Bit depths for playback” on page 1185
“Bit depths for recording” on page 1186
“Bit depths for importing audio” on page 1187
“Bit depths for exporting audio” on page 1187
“Bit depths for rendering audio” on page 1187
Bit depths for playback
Most sound cards can play audio at 16-bit or 24-bit resolution, with a few sound cards supporting 18-
bit and 20-bit resolution. When your project contains files with different bit depths SONAR plays
them at the bit depth that your sound card is currently set to. 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. If you’re playing 64-bit, 32-bit, or 24-bit files at 16
bits, you can turn dithering on in Edit > Preferences > Audio - Playback and Recording to
compensate for the truncated data.
When you first install SONAR, the Wave Profiler profiles your sound card at all the bit depths that the
sound card supports, so when you change the playback bit depth, you don’t need to run the Wave
Profiler again (you do need to relaunch SONAR).
Here’s how to change the playback bit depth for a project: