Do PC games use higher than 16bit 44100 ?

shankly1985 · 11 Mar 2016 at 19:18

Been buying high res audio from Qobuz 24bit 96000 and I set this on my sound card I can defo tell a difference in audio quality.
But do games yet support high res audio? Google tells me no but posts are from couple years old now.

Rroff · 11 Mar 2016 at 19:29

Most game samples and music are 16bit 44.1KHz (or equivalent) or for some older games lower - some games might make use of higher rate buffers for mixing effects, etc.

rids57 · 11 Mar 2016 at 23:26

AAA games tend to use 24 bit / 48kHz, which is the same standard as movie post production.
Lesser titles and indie games will use 16/44.1 and web games, well the lower the bandwidth the better, so any old compressed crap will do.

shankly1985 · 12 Mar 2016 at 02:03

Thanks guys i'll just leave it on the highest my sound card can output.

titaniumx3 · 12 Mar 2016 at 10:58

shankly1985 said:
Been buying high res audio from Qobuz 24bit 96000 and I set this on my sound card I can defo tell a difference in audio quality.

You can? Have you compared two identical recordings with the only exception being one is recorded at 44.1k/16 and the other at 96k/24? I'd wager that you wouldn't notice any difference, unless your system is not properly equipped to reproduce 96k audio or you are experiencing placebo.

Main reason why hires audio sounds better is because it has been rerecorded or remastered from the CD audio version, not because of the higher sample rate.

Since most of my music is in 44.1k/16bit and thats where i care about sound quality most, I leave windows set to 44.1k/24bit. Changing audio sample rate is a lossy process whereas changing bit depth is lossless. If games are using higher sample rates, then I doubt I'd notice the difference anyway, so it's OK for it to be downsampled to 44.1k.

Marsman · 12 Mar 2016 at 12:02

http://www.head-fi.org/t/415361/24bit-vs-16bit-the-myth-exploded

Seems to me like more marketing designed to make those people with the pursuit of obtaining HD audio, spend their money a bit more easily. How many audio products appear now with high resolution audio 24bit compatible labels? Particularly headphones. Yep, high resolution audio compatible headphones..... :/

Interesting thought that a 24bit DAC is not 24bit at all. If that's the case; what is the point of 24bit audio tracks?

For recording music though, 24bit and above makes perfect sense.

Too many people spend too much time trying to achieve the best audio quality they can, that they forget what is most important; enjoy the music.

shankly1985 · 12 Mar 2016 at 15:39

titaniumx3 said:
You can? Have you compared two identical recordings with the only exception being one is recorded at 44.1k/16 and the other at 96k/24? I'd wager that you wouldn't notice any difference, unless your system is not properly equipped to reproduce 96k audio or you are experiencing placebo.

Main reason why hires audio sounds better is because it has been rerecorded or remastered from the CD audio version, not because of the higher sample rate.

Since most of my music is in 44.1k/16bit and thats where i care about sound quality most, I leave windows set to 44.1k/24bit. Changing audio sample rate is a lossy process whereas changing bit depth is lossless. If games are using higher sample rates, then I doubt I'd notice the difference anyway, so it's OK for it to be downsampled to 44.1k.

100% I have listened to my digital collection of Pink Floyd countless amount of times every day. I bought the division bell 24bit 96khz
http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/the-division-bell-hi-res-version-pink-floyd/0825646264742

and right away I noticed how clear and fine tuned the audio was. My other album I ripped from my CD was FLAC 800kbs at 26bit 44100 this is 2600kbs 24bit 96khz
Its the fine details I seem to hear more like the change in instruments.

titaniumx3 · 12 Mar 2016 at 17:02

shankly1985 said:
100% I have listened to my digital collection of Pink Floyd countless amount of times every day. I bought the division bell 24bit 96khz
http://www.qobuz.com/fr-fr/album/the-division-bell-hi-res-version-pink-floyd/0825646264742

and right away I noticed how clear and fine tuned the audio was. My other album I ripped from my CD was FLAC 800kbs at 26bit 44100 this is 2600kbs 24bit 96khz
Its the fine details I seem to hear more like the change in instruments.

You missed my point. Are the CD audio and Hi-res versions from the same exact recording/mastering? If not, then you aren't really hearing a difference between 44.1khz/16bit and 96khz/24bit, but a difference between two different recordings.

Unless you have the hearing of a dog, the chances of you hearing a difference between 44.1khz and 96khz audio is very unlikely. If you are actually hearing something, then it's quite possible that your sound system is inadequate for 96khz audio reproduction and is introducing distortions itself.

shankly1985 · 12 Mar 2016 at 17:08

titaniumx3 said:
You missed my point. Are the CD audio and Hi-res versions from the same exact recording/mastering? If not, then you aren't really hearing a difference between 44.1khz/16bit and 96khz/24bit, but a difference between two different recordings.

Unless you have the hearing of a dog, the chances of you hearing a difference between 44.1khz and 96khz audio is very unlikely. If you are actually hearing something, then it's quite possible that your sound system is inadequate for 96khz audio reproduction and is introducing distortions itself.

Yeah they from different sources one bought from site and one done myself from CD.

My audio system sound card, Philip Fidelio x1 and pioneer vsx 329 all support high bit rate and sample rate.

Either way am very happy with how it sounds.

rids57 · 12 Mar 2016 at 18:23

I have a few 96kHz and even some 192kHz tracks and yes they do sound better BUT I attribute the better sound quality to them being remastered with a lot more care and attention to detail.