To Dither or Not to Dither

[cris is bliss]

OK I read some of the posts on Dithering and you guys seem to be saying that Dithering is the last thing in line to do, and do after the final 2 track master bounce, if you have a fader movement on your Master Fader or have your fader set to anything other than 0 because dithering won't go correctly.

But what if you did a sub mix of your drums and used the MWLimiter, would you turn dithering off since there will be another final 2 track bounce

If so, do I always leave the Dither checked in the Audio menu since DP raises 16 and 24 bit digital audio to 32 bits upon recording, as the manual says. And WOULD I leave it checked in the MWLimiter since most mixes are made to 8, 16 or 24 bit and not done to 32 bit, and just not care about the problem that happens during the 8 second fade out at the end.

Much confusion, much confusion http://www.motunation.com/forum/posting ... e=post&f=3#

[daniel.sneed]

If your dither plug is set AFTER fader on your master fader track, then you can move or automate the master fader, dithering will work ok.
Dithering is crucial when doing your last digital step from DP's 32 bits float to 16 bits for final use, say a test CD.
AFAIK, when you make sub-bounces in 24 bits, there's no real need of dithering.

[Kubi]

Yes, do not NOT add dither on submixes etc. Dither is noise and accumulates. You only need dither as the very very last step, if and when you go from 24 bits to 16 bits depth.

The conversion between 24bit fixed files in recording and playback and 32bit float for DP's internal processing does not require the addition of dither beyond what the dither option under the audio menu provides (it kicks in i.e. when you crossfade, merge or apply effects destructively.) So it is generally recommended you keep that option checked.

Exception i.e. if you export a sound file from the sound bites menu that has already been dithered, then you should turn the dither option under the audio menu off to avoid double-dithering.