Bit resolution
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Bit resolution is a term describing the dynamic range of a digital audio recording. The dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and the quietest point of the recording. The dynamic range is often reported in decibels (dB). In a digital audio recording, each bit (in the bit resolution) equals roughly 6 dB in the dynamic range. One could say that one bit (which can have two values, 0 or 1, true or false) gives the instrument in a recording a total of 2 volume levels. 2-bit gives 4 volume levels, because 2-bit gives 4 possible combinations. The "volume levels" (more commonly and hereafter known as discrete values) of a certain bit resolution can be calculated by (<math>2^n</math>) where n is the number of bits. Compact discs have a resolution of 16 bits, which equals 65536 discrete values and a theoretical maximum limit of 96 dB dynamic range.
Many audiophiles regard compact disc as inferior to the vinyl format. This is in part caused by the bit resolution of 16 bits and the ideal 96 dB dynamic range. Vinyl enthusiasts claim dynamic ranges of 100 dB or more, while typical estimates are closer to 60–80 dB for practical situations.[1] [2]
24-bit digital recording is believed to improve sound quality substantially, as well as increasing the sampling rate. Currently, only certain music DVDs with a 24-bit/96 kHz DTS track use 24-bit audio. However real world systems can not achieve the theoretical noise floor limits of 24-bit (-144.50dB). Practical dynamic ranges of ~110dB are more realistic after accounting for other noise sources other than 24-bit Quantization noise.
