[oclug] Dumb question about MP3

[Stephen Gregory]

On 21-Aug-06, at 11:13 PM, farrell wrote:

> ultra sonic sounds that add to the colour of the music. Add to  
> that, it is
> only 16 bit, and that is just at the very bottom end of what A to D
> technology can do today.

The SNR from an ideal analog to digital converter is 6.02 * bits dB.  
CD audio would have a SNR of about 96dB. 24bit audio would have a SNR  
of 144.5dB.

IIRC a really good amplifier and speakers max out around 110dB. 24bit  
seems like a lot of overkill. I wonder if equipment can get valid  
24bit samples. Sure the ADC might be able to do that, but what is the  
point if 30dB is just noise? I suspect that the ADC use smaller  
samples put into a 24bit frame for easier processing. 18bit would  
give a best cast SNR of 108dB.

-- 
sg