When Bob Stadtherr and I first started work on the Digital Lens technology, some twenty-two years ago, we hadn't as many bits to work with as today. Back then, there were only 16. Today, we see 24 and sometimes 32.
Do the extra bits we have today matter? It's nearly impossible to tell because we haven't easy access to recording with and without them.
The bits beyond 16 permit greater dynamic range: 144dB for 24 bits vs. a paltry 96dB for 16. 24 bit's added 48dB of range seems enormous and certainly important. But is it?
Not necessarily. Much has to do with how it's achieved and what the recording engineer did with it.
If we add more bits to an existing recording with only 16, we gain no new information.
But take two recorders, one set to 16 bit, the other to 24, and now that situation has changed. Music captured with a 24 bit recording has greater space than the smaller 16-bit version.
The point is this. Trying to modify an existing recording of 16 bits by tacking more onto its end provides very little (if any) improvement.
Recording it properly in the first place is the key.
