Interpolation of Clipping and Bit-Rate Questions., Adobe Audition Help for a Noob. Options

[Engelsstaub]

I've been testing out the trial of Adobe Audition and have noticed that it is a bit more detailed in analyzing and manipulating peaks and "clips" than Audacity. My immediate example is a needle-drop of Krisiun's "The Great Execution." (One track--1st illustration below.) The CD and iTunes Matched AAC files are a complete mess in that most of the entire recording is clipped or squashed or whatever. (Same track--second illustration below.) (Krisiun is a Brazilian "death metal" band, so there's quite a bit of sound anyway!)

LP Rip @ 16/44.1


iTunes Matched AAC file



If you look at the needledrop in the first illustration you'll notice five places (bottom/right channel) where the sound clipped for a small fraction of a second. I was thinking of zooming in and doing a simple "auto heal" on those as I'm very pleased with the sound of this album when burned to Redbook CD-R. You'll also notice that, if you look at the bottom-right of both illustrations, that Audition is working at 16-bit for the vinyl rip (recorded at 16/44) and 32-bit float for the iTunes AAC file.

Some questions: will working on those few clipped samples and exporting the results at the same bit-rate reduce the quality of the original recording? Why does Audition indicate that it is working at 32-bit float for a 16/44 AAC file while it remains at 16-bit for the FLAC?

[Engelsstaub]

An Audigy SE is out for me...I do my stuff on a MacBook Pro. The cartridge is indeed the stock one (Ortofon Red) that comes pre-fitted from Pro-Ject.

I believe may "downgrade" to the newer Debut III Carbon and sell this one before I upgrade the cartridge. You mentioned the speed and that's one of the reasons I got into Pro-Ject TTs; they offer decent upgradability. However I found out that the Speedbox doesn't work with the USB model, and that was part of my long-term strategy. I haven't noticed any speed problems thus far...but then again I never really looked into it either.

I've thought about buying a quartz-driven TT like a Technics. It would certainly make cleaning a record far easier

When I get the proper equipment (between the preamp and the MBP) I may begin recording at 24/88.2 and archiving that way. I have a SACD/DVD-A player in my stereo system but I never really listen to anything at that resolution. So I guess I'd just be dithering for playback copies anyway.

Digital is my preference over vinyl. Sometimes I find records (such as this one) that aren't badly clipped like the CDs and would rather listen to a digital copy of it. Some records are nothing more that the CD's master turned down a bit for vinyl but still clipped. So it's just a crapshoot for me. It's really more of a hobby to keep me collecting.