I'm Dithering!

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:51 pm

matwell wrote:I usually don't even bother to find a zero-crossing

I generally wouldn't bother with it either for the sake of a glitch except when you randomly jump to a song it can "pop" on you, depending on the player.

stuartnorfolk · Post by **stuartnorfolk** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:27 am

Many thanks guys for your input.

Its interesting to hear that the glitch thing could well be down to the burning software used. Im ust admit that a lot of my problems with glitches were a little while back when I used to use Windows based apps.

Lots of great tips and some really insightful views/methods for mastering/developing albums.

However, I would like to hear more about your experiences with different dither algorithms and which you consider to be better.

Regards,

Stuart

Phil O · Post by **Phil O** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 5:56 am

I have an Apogee Rosetta 800. It has UV22HR dithering and that's what I use most of the time. I think it has a more natural sound than the dithering from Waves. I also have the Waves project pack which has the L1. I'll use that sometimes when there are time constraints. Some disagree with me and don't like Apogee's sound. I think you'll find a lot of different opinions on dithering.

PO

Splinter · Post by **Splinter** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:12 am

I currently use L3 for my dithering duties - Type 1, Ultra. It pushes the noise up above 16k and is fairly transparent for most rock/pop stuff, but on occasion on more open, acoustic stuff can get irritating when the volume is turned up. Some of the other noiseshaping curves would be better suited for that, but I mostly only work on pop/rock music.

I used to use L1+ for dither and honestly I think I liked it better. It was more subtle - less hyped in the high end. But I'm not a big connoisseur of dither so it wasn't a big deal to leave it to get the limiting benefits of L3. That said, I have done a handful of dithering listening tests and my favorites were Ozone3's dither and L1's. Here's one you can try for comparison:

http://www.24-96.net/dither/

stuartnorfolk · Post by **stuartnorfolk** » Mon May 01, 2006 6:21 am

Hi Guys

Thanks for your response.

Phil - I could imagine that Rosetta's dither is good, but it is a hell of an expensive kit for that alone.

Splinter - Although I haven't tested the Izone 3, the fact that Alexey Lukin is on the development team is more than enough to convince me that it must be a top plugin for dither. The L1 is also highly rated.

However, having said all of that I think that initially I am going to go with DSP-Quattro for track marking and dithering. It seems to receive a positive response from all of those who use it and at $119 it is a very economical purchase. On top of that, I have been in touch with DSP and they are developing the playlist/edit window to be more in line with the functionality of WaveBurner, which in my mind has to be a big plus point.

Stuart