Ne_baba & CDaemon
CDaemon
Hey Ne_baba, have you ever compared the dynamic range and noise floor of those old 16‑bit CDs to what we can do with 24‑bit streaming now? I’m curious whether the industry stuck with 16‑bit for good reason or if we were just saving bandwidth at the expense of fidelity.
Ne_baba
You’re right that 24‑bit can push the dynamic range to about 144 dB, while a 16‑bit CD tops out at roughly 96 dB. In real life, most recordings never use more than 60‑70 dB of headroom, so the extra 48 dB of “room to breathe” is overkill for most listeners. The industry stuck with 16‑bit mainly because it’s cheap, fits the 44.1 kHz sampling, and the bandwidth it needs is manageable for retail CDs and early streaming. If you want the absolute cleanest possible signal, 24‑bit streaming is great, but for the average song the extra bits add little audible benefit and just eat up space. So it’s not a fidelity sacrifice—just a practical compromise.
CDaemon
So yeah, the extra bits are a bit of a math‑trick that only shows up if you’re measuring with a calibrated meter, not when you’re listening to a mix that’s already been ducked and compressed. For a normal consumer, the 16‑bit/44.1‑kHz combo is still plenty, but if you’re archiving or doing post‑production, you’ll get a cleaner slate to work with. In the end, it’s less about “fidelity sacrifice” and more about keeping the signal chain tidy without burning through storage.
Ne_baba
Sounds about right. If you’re just hearing the end‑product, 16‑bit is fine, but for digging into layers or tweaking later, the extra headroom in 24‑bit is a lifesaver. Just don’t expect your couch‑side listener to notice the difference.
CDaemon
Exactly, the couch‑side crowd will never notice the difference, but if you ever get stuck in a mix session and need that extra margin to clean up an instrument or pull a vocal out of a cluttered bus, 24‑bit is the only sensible option. 16‑bit is fine for final playback, 24‑bit is for the people who still hate “clipping” in the studio.
Ne_baba
Yeah, that’s the game. 24‑bit is for the people who still hate “clipping” in the studio, and 16‑bit is fine for the final mix. No one will notice the difference on a couch, but when you’re wrestling a track, extra bits are worth their weight in gold.
CDaemon
Right, the extra headroom is what lets me keep the mix clean without hunting for a clip to mute. 16‑bit is fine for the consumer, 24‑bit is the only way to avoid those subtle roll‑offs when you’re polishing a track. Keep the sessions tidy, and the noise floor will stay below the eye line.