Vinyl is equivalent to which digital bit-depth and sampling rate? Options

[KMD]

What sample rate and bit depth , dithered, would create a digital recording with the same bandwidth and signal to noise ratio as vinyl

[John_Siau]

What sample rate and bit depth , dithered, would create a digital recording with the same bandwidth and signal to noise ratio as vinyl

DSD demonstrates that 1 bit is sufficient to achieve a SNR that is much better than vinyl. The answer is that the word length must be at least 1 bit.

The bandwidth question is not quite as straightforward. 44.1 kHz is the minimum sample rate that will fully reproduce all audible frequencies while providing some room for the filter transition band. The answer is that the sample rate must be at least 44.1 kHz.

The combination of sample rate, bit depth, and dithering method will determine the what combinations produce sufficient SNR within the audio band. A 1-bit system at 44.1 kHz would produce a 6 dB SNR at best. For every bit-depth, and dithering method, a sample rate can be chosen to produce the desired SNR. If we choose the minimum sample rate, 16-bits are more than sufficient to capture the full SNR of the vinyl recording.

Please note that 44.1/16 is capable of delivering all frequencies up to 20 kHz at full amplitude. Vinyl disks cannot deliver high frequencies at full amplitude. For this reason, high frequencies were always limited when mastering vinyl. 44.1/16 has far more dynamic range at high frequencies than can be recorded on a vinyl record. The engineer can create a brighter mix on a CD, and this is often done.

The source material recorded on vinyl records must be mastered to fit the physical limitations of the format. The physics of the cutting head and the playback needle put significant constraints on the amplitudes that can be recorded at various frequencies. For this reason, vinyl masters are usually mixed differently than CD masters.

This post has been edited by John_Siau: Mar 13 2012, 15:44