Should you dither audio?

If you’re going from 32-bit fixed point (not floating point) to 24- or 16-bit, you should dither. However, if you’re bouncing your mix to a data-compression codec like MP3 or AAC, dithering is not necessary.

What is dither in digital audio?

Dither is simply noise. It’s noise added to a signal when changing bit depth to make quantization distortion less noticeable.

When should you dither audio?

Always use dither when saving out to 16 or 24-bit files. So a better rule would be: Always dither – unless you’re staying at 32-bit floating point, in which case once is enough. Other versions of this advice I often see include only dithering when saving to 16-bit, or only at the mastering stage.

What is the best dither option?

Dithering modes on Ableton (Ableton Manual) By default, Triangular is selected, which is the safest mode to use if there is any possibility of doing additional processing on your file. Rectangular mode introduces an even smaller amount of dither noise, but at the expense of additional quantization error.

Can you hear dithering?

Unless your idea of a comfortable listening level is to blow your ears off, playing the reference file back at -60dB will be inaudible or at least very faint. Bear in mind that this is the kind of level (and lower) where dithering does its thing.

Should you dither before mastering?

Dithering is the process of adding noise to a signal, in an effort to mask and randomize higher-order harmonics, and in turn, make quantization distortion less perceivable. Dithering should only be used during the mastering process, and only when the bit depth of a signal is being reduced.

Should you dither stems?

Technically one should be dithering when bouncing to 24bit int stems, because otherwise each sample is truncated from 64 fp, resulting in distortion (albeit extremely quiet distortion). We can bounce to a float format to prevent this, since there’s no option to dither.

Should I dither before mastering?

Here’s the short and sweet answer: dithering is the process of adding noise to a signal in order to reduce quantization distortion when reducing the bit depth of a file. Dithering should only be applied during the mastering stage when bouncing from 24 or 32-bit down to 16-bits.

What is dithering in audio?

It’s a form of low-level noise that is intentionally added to a digital audio file as it’s rendered to a lower bit depth. The concept of dithering might seem counterintuitive, but it’s an effective process.

What is a dither effect?

Dither is simply noise. It’s noise added to a signal when changing bit depth to make quantization distortion less noticeable. Ok, you Googled “how do I dither audio” (or something to that effect) and just want the straight, simple answer.

Will you use dither?

Yes, yes I will. At its heart, dither is simply noise, and noise, by virtue of its very nature, is random. Back in the early days of digital audio, some clever engineers realized they could use a random noise signal to their advantage.

What is 24 bit dither noise and how to reduce it?

In a nutshell, it’s basically like applying EQ to the dither noise to make it less audible. At bit depths of 8 or 16 bits, this can make an appreciable difference. At 24 bits though, the dither noise is so quiet that at normal listening levels it’s inaudible, even without noise-shaping.