On Mon, Mar 06, 2017 at 02:59:47PM -0500, Taylor wrote: > I'm a little bit new to LADSPA and LV2, so this may be a naive question. > > I would like to know why single precision floating point types are used > in the plugin interface, instead of double precision.
Because 32-bit floating point already provides more dynamic range than is required for audio signals. Even 24-bit fixed point has a dynamic range of 145 dB. Which means it can at the same time represent a signal that is so low that you can't hear it, and one so loud that will damage your ears beyond repair. Even the best analog hardware, including AD and DA converters, and even using high 'professional' signal levels, is no better than 21 or maybe 22 bits. This is not going to change, it's the consequence of basic physics. Using double precision doesn't provide any advantage. The only place where it may be required is internally in some DSP algorithms (e.g. some filter types). But even this can be avoided in most cases by good design. If you read anything on the web claiming that high quality audio requires 32 bits converters or double precision you can be sure this is snake oil - someone trying to make money by exploiting ignorance. > I would also like to know if there are plans to standardize a plugin > interface that may process double-precision instead of single-precision > data (or both). Don't think so, since there's no point in doing that. Ciao, -- FA A world of exhaustive, reliable metadata would be an utopia. It's also a pipe-dream, founded on self-delusion, nerd hubris and hysterically inflated market opportunities. (Cory Doctorow) _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-dev mailing list Linux-audio-dev@lists.linuxaudio.org http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
