Dithering - CAKEWALK SONAR User Manual

• Pan
• Automation
• Effects

Dithering

Dithering is a process you can use when you convert a higher bit-depth file to 16 bits. SONAR features
the Pow-r dithering process, short for Psycho-acoustically Optimized Wordlength Reduction, which can
produce 16-bit files that sound indistinguishable from 24-bit source files. Dithering adds a small
amount of noise to the 16-bit file to approximate the sounds that were lost when the other bits were
removed. When this option is turned on, SONAR uses dithering when you export a higher-bit file at 16
bits, or change the bit depth of a project's audio files to 16 from a higher bit depth (the Tools-Change
Audio Format command).
SONAR offers four kinds of dithering:
• Rectangular—basically white noise, and the least CPU-intensive, this type of dither
is more audible than the Pow-r dither types, but works well with loud projects, or
ones that use distortion.
• Pow-r 1—adds a fairly consistent amount of noise below 10k, then quickly
increases. Good for compressed music with few quiet sections.
• Pow-r 2—adds a little less noise than Pow-r 1 until around 9k, then increases fairly
rapidly. More CPU-intensive than Pow-r 1.
• Pow-r 3—adds the least amount of noise in the most audible range, then jumps up
at about 8k and again above 10k. Good for classical music or any music that has a
wide range of volume. Most CPU-intensive and transparent of all choices.
To Choose Dithering Options
1. Open the Audio Options dialog (Options-Audio command).
2. On the Advanced tab, under Playback and Recording, choose the kind of dithering you want in the
Dithering field.
3. Click OK.
419