24-bit / 48 kHz explained

24-bit / 48 kHz describes the resolution of a digital audio file. 24-bit is the bit depth, how finely each sample's level is measured. 48 kHz is the sample rate, how many samples are taken each second. Club Ready Music's WAV uses both, which is the standard for professional, broadcast and video audio.

Bit depth: 24-bit

Each sample stores a level as a binary number. With 16 bits there are 65,536 possible levels; with 24 bits there are over 16 million. More levels means a lower noise floor: 16-bit gives about 96 dB of dynamic range, 24-bit about 144 dB, far more than any playback system or room. The practical benefit is headroom. A 24-bit file can be turned down, processed, and re-levelled many times without quantisation noise becoming audible, which is why studios work at 24-bit even though CDs are 16-bit.

Sample rate: 48 kHz

A digital system can capture frequencies up to half its sample rate. At 48 kHz that is 24 kHz, above the limit of human hearing. CD uses 44.1 kHz; video, film and broadcast standardised on 48 kHz. The two sound the same, but converting between them requires resampling, which is a small loss and an extra step. Because Club Ready Music tracks are often used with video, streamed, or sent to radio, 48 kHz avoids a resample in the places where it is most likely to be needed.

What Club Ready Music does

Every take is processed at 48 kHz using a high-quality resampler, then written as 24-bit PCM WAV and as a 320 kbps MP3 from the same signal. The MP3 is also 48 kHz. Both files are two-channel stereo.

Does it make the music sound better

Not on its own. Bit depth and sample rate set the ceiling of what a file can carry, not the quality of what was put into it. A 24/48 WAV of a Club Ready Music render contains the mastered signal exactly; the MP3 contains a very close lossy approximation. The audible difference between the two in a club is nil. The WAV earns its place when the file will be processed again, because it has no encoding artefacts to compound.

File sizes

A five-minute 24-bit / 48 kHz stereo WAV is about 50 MB. The same track as a 320 kbps MP3 is about 12 MB. If storage is tight, keep the WAV as the master and make MP3s from it as needed.

Compatibility

All current DJ software and media players handle 24-bit / 48 kHz WAV. Older CDJs and some car systems want 16-bit / 44.1 kHz; convert a copy with any audio tool if you meet one. Distributors accept 24/48 for streaming releases, and most prefer it.