Just thinking aloud (88.2 or 44.1 sample rates)

[txshonk]

I have a rig that can run 44.1 or 88.2

I can run 88.2k at 64 buffer or 44.1k at 32 buffer - CPU overhead and latency are equal - so if my gear is capable why shouldnt I run 88.2k vs 44.1k?

I hadn't done any blind tests or anything yet to see if I can hear the sound diff - but was curious what others opinions might be.

[Bob L]

My guess is you won't hear any sound difference... but you will see a big cpu load difference when you start adding eq, and monitor mixes into the equation. That's a lot of extra data that has to be moved and processed every loop... and for no real useful reason, if the audio difference is not drastic.

And... don't forget about system stability... this much extra load could be the difference between a stable system or one that starts dropping buffers during the performance.... but... by all means... try it out and see what happens, if you are brave enough.

Bob L

[txshonk]

Did a quick test - Bob as usual was dead on the money on adding effects.

A 24 channel mix session with fx/eq/gates will run me about 10-15% more CPU hit then 44.1k.

The sound quality is a hard one. I swear running my acoustic guitar through 88.2 just makes the highs sparkle a little more. But I am not doing it blind so I dont know how much of a mind trick is being played.

I'll probably just sit on thiis one til I have someone around to bounce back and forth from 44.1/88.2 without me knowing what is what and see if I can tell.

Thanks

[gdougherty]

There's not enough difference to warrant running the higher sample rates, IMO. Keep things at 64x2 and 44.1/48Khz. Give yourself the overhead for CPU load if you want/need it. The Digidesign Venue hardware and most other large scale quality boards run at 24/48Khz. The majority of listening tests I've seen don't reveal an appreciable difference. All the descriptors indicate slight differences at best, and the biggest objective impact is in frequency ranges where many pro audio systems either can't or don't bother to reproduce. A studio situation may be a different matter.

[ssrsound]

To my ears, SAC sounded vastly better when I bumped up to 24/48. The difference between 44.1 and 48 was clear, and the difference moving from the default 16-bit to 24-bit was huge.

But above that I didn't hear much difference. At least nothing that would be heard on a live situation.