Downsample/convert hi-res 24 bit to 16 bit with Audacity or Foobar2000.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by bbanderic, Jan 1, 2015.

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  1. music and movies

    music and movies Forum Resident

    Thanks. Sorry to bother, but could you make it simple for me and post what I should be typing into the command-line interface in order to convert my 24-bit 192 khz file into a 16-bit 44.1 khz file? When I attempt to use:

    . . . the interface says:

    I don't get an output file either.
     
  2. testikoff

    testikoff Seasoned n00b

    ^^^I think you're trying to dither a 24/192 source. You need to resample to 44100 kHz & reduce word-length to 16 bits, too:

    Code:
    C:\TMP> SoX.exe -S "SR002 Kote Moun Yo 24192.flac" -r 44100 -b 16 "SR002 Kote Moun Yo 1644 (ges).flac" dither -f gesemann
    
    Input File  : 'SR002 Kote Moun Yo 24192.flac'
    Channels  : 2
    Sample Rate  : 192000
    Precision  : 24-bit
    Duration  : 00:03:30.00 = 40320000 samples ~ 15750 CDDA sectors
    File Size  : 125M
    Bit Rate  : 4.75M
    Sample Encoding: 24-bit FLAC
    Comments  :
    ALBUM=Equinox
    ARTIST=Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn
    DATE=2011
    GENRE=Acoustic
    TITLE=Kote Moun Yo? (24/192)
    TRACKNUMBER=1
    replaygain_track_gain=+4.36 dB
    replaygain_track_peak=0.863861
    
    In:100%  00:03:30.00 [00:00:00.00] Out:9.26M [  |  ] Hd:1.2 Clip:0
    Done.
    
     
  3. music and movies

    music and movies Forum Resident

    Just tried that. I get this prompt:

    I also still don't see the output file anywhere.
     
  4. music and movies

    music and movies Forum Resident

    Foobar2000 is not trustworthy as a processing tool.

    I attempted to decompress using Foobar2000. I decompressed the same FLAC file using FLAC FrontEnd. The Foobar2000 WAV was actually a byte smaller than the FLAC FrontEnd WAV. A whole byte of data was missing from the Foobar2000 decompressed file.
     
  5. Ham Sandwich

    Ham Sandwich Senior Member

    Location:
    Sherwood, OR, USA
    That is not unexpected. Just because a WAV file is not exactly the same as another WAV files doesn't mean that they aren't the same. The WAV standard has multiple ways of encoding the same audio data. So even though the audio data is the same you can have two WAV files that are not exactly the same even though they contain the same audio data.

    If you compare WAV files for being the same you need to use a tool that compares only the audio data.

    Here's what the Xiph.org FAQ for FLAC says:
     
    jfeldt likes this.
  6. JamieLang

    JamieLang Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Hey, side note....to play on your IDevice, you want 16/48 or 24/48 ALAC. There's no need to go to 44.1 which is, IME/O where the largest loss happens.

    There is a bigger difference in sound between 44 and 48 than 48 and everything else, IMO/E. When I do work at 88.2, I can reduce it to 48khz and still love the sound....as soon as I go to 44.1 I go "well....there's that CD sound"....I have thousands...I don't MIND CD, but I'm just saying--if you want to be portable with your high rez, make 48khz files.

    I will leave FooBar instructions for those who use it. I typically use XLD for personal library ripping/transcoding and such.
     
    Plan9 likes this.
  7. testikoff

    testikoff Seasoned n00b

    Not in my experience. FB2K is superb both as a transport and a processing tool.
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2015
    Robert C likes this.
  8. music and movies

    music and movies Forum Resident

    Something seemed to go wrong because I was able to identify by ear which ones had been processed through Foobar. They seemed to lose some of their airyness and punch whereas the ones that went through Frontend then SoX sounded more like the 24 bit files. I tried convincing myself there was nothing wrong with the ones that went through Foobar, but it kept bothering me.

    I decompressed to WAV, downsampled to 16-bit 44.1khz and dithered all in one motion in Foobar... the end product lost something detectable by ear. I compared them with the Frontend+SoX converted files numerous times and heard a difference, enough to know that the Foobar converted ones weren't the best possible result I could get.
     
    Last edited: Apr 13, 2015
    Celtic likes this.
  9. HAmmer

    HAmmer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milwaukee WI
    If your using a ipod touch or iphone you can get the ONKYO HF player app
    And it will play all your hi res stuff
     
  10. testikoff

    testikoff Seasoned n00b

    With FB2K, I use SoX Resampler (best quality, linear-phase, no aliasing & 95% passband) & MDA dither VST plug-ins with excellent results (I do not use FB2K native dithering, since it is a tad "noisy" for my taste). SoX utility's resampling uses virtually the same SRC algorithm (obviously). I also occasionally use SoX's moderate noise-shaped dithers, i.e. modified-e-weighted, lipshitz & gesemann (their dither noise amplitudes are below -68.5dBFS). I generally avoid more extreme SoX dithers, i.e. f-weighted, improved-e-weighted (reminds me dither used on 2009 The Beatles' remasters) & shibata family (shibata dither resembles FB2K native dither, BTW).
     
    jfeldt likes this.
  11. driverdrummer

    driverdrummer Forum Resident

    Location:
    Irmo, SC
    I use DB Powerconverter and convert files to 320 AAC in iTunes.
     
    Waymore Lonesome likes this.
  12. plibemmer

    plibemmer New Member

    Location:
    U.S.A
    Have you tried Faasoft 32 Bit Audio Converter? Download the program, set the output format and click "Settings..." > "Advanced" > "Audio Codec", and here choose "pcm_s16le" or "pcm_s24le" or "pcm_s32le".

    It is easier to handle than Foobar and Audacity and it has Mac version.
     
  13. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    iPod can play 24/48.
     
  14. ellaguru

    ellaguru Forum Resident

    Location:
    Milan
    on a PC? i use 'r8brain' to get hi res files to 16/44.1.
     
  15. marcb

    marcb Senior Member

    Location:
    DC area
    Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't see anything about dithering in their how-to's...
     
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