In Summary

Some engineers swear by throwing as much information at recorded audio as possible. Others are happy to trust the science at lower rates to bottle everything that can be heard. UK audio guru Dan Worrall has recently shared his own thoughts in his video The Perennial Sample Rate Dilemma.

Going Deeper

High Sample Rate Audio - More Is More, Right?

When it comes to the finer technical points of our craft, there are a few subjects that always inspire some lively discussion. Whether it’s external summing versus summing in the box, or the internet’s all-time favourite, Analogue Versus Digital, there will always be the subjects that are guaranteed to inspire discourse.

Inside the digital camp - the vast majority of the industry - there is a group that advocates the use of high sample rates across the board to maximise audio quality. These are opposed to others who are happy to rely on the science of what it takes to resolve what can actually be heard.

There are certainly plenty of high sample rate-centric things we can buy into that exist to supposedly make mixes sound better. These can include a host of convertors, audio plugins, and the DAW itself as well as other tools that deal in the kind of frequencies engineers and listeners simply cannot hear.

OK, So What Are The Benefits In Using High Sample Rate Audio?

There are some uses for high sample rate audio that bring demonstrable benefits. An example is their use in making digital EQs behave as they should. An audio plugin EQ running internally at 44.1kHz cannot resolve filter shapes above Nyquist (22.05kHz). This means that, for example, a bell filter with a centre frequency around this number will get chopped off or otherwise distorted above the centre frequency. One fix is for the EQ to run internally at a higher rate (oversample) to give filter shapes room to breathe. You can read more about EQ cramping below in our article highlighting Dan Worrall’s explainer on the subject:

High sample rates also have their uses for sound design capture. A 96kHz capture means that sounds’ play rates can be halved to affect a one octave pitch drop at 48kHz without any artefacts.

So… Does High Sample Rate Audio Really Sound Better?

Now for the big one. Do high sample rates such as 96kHz or even 192kHz make an appreciable difference to the auydio quality of a mix? Nobody can tell anyone what’s going on in-between their own ears. But luckily for everything happening on the outside we have numbers to help explain beyond any doubt.

In his video The Perennial Sample Rate Dilemma, UK audio engineer Dan Worrall offers his thoughts on the use of high sample rates to supposedly raise the quality of mixes. In it, he argues that his rate of choice surpasses the minimum requirements for excellent audio fidelity. He contends that beyond this no sample rate can have a greater influence on audio quality than the changes made to mixes by the engineer themself. Talking about his own experiences, including an excellent analogy with his guitar collection, Dan also points out that regardless of sample rate, there can never be any increase in resolution for content below Nyquist, in his case sounds at 24kHz and below.

Everyone has their opinion based on what they are hearing and why that is. Below, Dan gives his measured opinion on the virtues of using a given sample rate, and why he works at his chosen rate. He also updates his followers on the status of his own health in his inimitable fact-based style. We wish you all the very best Dan.