16-bit AND 24-bit
Greetings all.
So, I recently purchased a 24-bit sound card for n-track use and plan on upgrading to the 24-bit version soon. However, it appears I may have a dilemna…
To compose some of the sample-based sections of my music I use Magix Music Maker 7. It is a great program for my purposes…The system requirements for it though indicate a 16-bit sound card. I tried contacting Magix customer service to see if the program would work on a 24-bit sound card (as you can tell, I’m a pc novice). They have not yet responded and I fear they never will…so, that is why I pose my question to the most informative forum in cyberspace…
Does anyone know if there would be a problem using such a program as Magix Music Maker on a 24-bit sound card if the system requirements indicate 16-bit and make no mention whatsoever of using a 24-bit sound card?
Or, would it be possible to have both a 24-bit soundcard and a 16-bit soundcard installed on my pc with the preferences for n-track pointing to the 24-bit and preferences for the MMM pointing toward the 16-bit soundcard?
Any insight would greatly be appreciated…
Thanks,
R~R~
Hi R~R,
Magix only exports 16 bit files. This is not a problem though. You can assemble your sample based stuff and mix it down to a stereo .wav file for import into n-Track. You can use it whether your project is 16 or 24 bit. If your soundcard supports 24 bit audio, I would use it for the audio recording. You MUST however make sure the sample rates match. If your exported Magix file is 44.1khz, the audio recording should be 44.1khz as well. I think n will warn you if the sample rate is different is offer to convert it for you…but why bother? Just make sure they are both 44.1 or 48 and go.
HTH,
TG
PS I have Magix Music Maker 7 and Magix Music Studio 2005 Deluxe. Both are nice packages but neither support 24 bit audio recording. I use n-Track for audio recording almost exclusively.
Hi there !
I think the answers to both your questions would be yes.
Soundcards gets managed from software through the driver, and a 24 card bit can operate at lower bitrates if the software wants it.
Kinda like a motorcycle that can do 200MpH… You don’t have tot drive that fast.
It’s when the program is sending 24 bit and the card is 16 that I hope you’ve got your fingers in your ears when you experience that.
It is possible to run two different soundcards in your system.
Shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
If you decide to run two soundcards, you need some way to synchronize them. Otherwise you may have drift problems between the two cards. Each running on its own clock can cause synch issues. A lot of cards (if your driver(s) support it) can be synchronized by using the S/PDIF connectors and locking them together via S/PDIF.
TG
TG and Wihan,
you have both provided answers that are pleasing to my ear (or eyes rather) and your assistance is very much appreciated.
Thanks fellas,
Remy
I recently tried opening a 24bit wav in CoolEdit 96… I was wearing headphones and had the volume cranked pretty loud… OUCH!