Digital Input

[bornpilot]

Greetings, In my setup I have an analog source going into a Behringer DEQ2496 the output of the DEQ to the computer is digital using TOSLINK. I am following the tutorial for copying tapes, LP, or Minidisk to CD. I am not looking to convert to CD just capture the digital signal for archival. My question from step 5 of the tutorial: is there a way to export the audio utilizing the same settings as the DEQ?
It seems to me that exporting will resample the data which I don't want done. I want my DEQ to set the bit and sample rates and just capture that audio stream as PCM format?

Tim

[steve]

I am not looking to convert to CD just capture the digital signal for archival.

If you are only working with CD, then the best option would be digital ripping (http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/)

[bornpilot]

Steve, thank you for the reply. I had only mentioned that as the tutorial is for converting towards cd. My sources will be cassette tape, reel tape and live voice audio.

Tim

[steve]

I was just checking that you weren't making things hard for yourself

is there a way to export the audio utilizing the same settings as the DEQ?

What settings does your DEQ use and what format do you want exported audio to be?

[bornpilot]

What settings does your DEQ use and what format do you want exported audio to be?

Yeah, thanks steve I don't like duplicating work either.

As far as my DEQ2496. For ADC it's 24bit and sample rates as low as 44.1K to 96k and various dither settings for low amplitude analog signals. What I want to do is capture the raw digital for archival purposes. From what I understand Audacity will capture what the audio interface give it; in this case a digital stream. What I assume is that when I export with audacity that it will--for a lack of better term--repass the data at a selected bit rate and sample rate. The bit rate seems to be 16-bit and the sample rate is based from the project rate. My assumptions are based on the tutorial and this quote:

If you are planning to burn a CD with your exported files you should ensure that you use the export format 16-bit PCM stereo WAV, this should be the default if you have not changed it. Also ensure that your Project Rate is 44.1kHz (44100 - see the box in the bottom left hand corner of the Audacity window).

The final audio I want for archival. From the archival I plan on processing that for mp3. For the live audio recoding the archival will also be used for PA playback at times. So, I am not sure if PCM WAV/AIFF is the format I am looking for since what I am looking for is to capture and save the digital stream from the deq2496 at 24bit 96k sample rate. What I don't want to do is have to resample the data for the archive, obviously I will for the mp3.

Tim

[steve]

Re. the quote.
Audio CDs are always 16 bit 44100 Hz stereo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_Di ... dio_format

If you are recording 24 bit 96 kHz and you want to avoid any losses between the recording and the export, then you will need the following setting in Audacity (Edit menu > Preferences > Quality)
Default Sample Rate: 96000
Default Sample Format: 24 bit or 32 bit float (in this case it does not matter which, but not 16 bit).
Both of the Dither settings to "None".

These settings are specific to your task of recording and then exporting in 24 bit 96 kHz and assume that you apply no processing in Audacity (do not "Amplify", "Normalize", "Fade" or use any other effects).

For normal use, the Default Sample Format should be 32 bit float and "High Quality Dither" should be "Shaped" or "Triangle" (by default it is "Shaped").

To export in 24 bit you could use either WAV, FLAC or AIFF format.
FLAC format may not be supported by default in your usual media player (a plug-in to add FLAC support may be available) but it has the advantage that the file sized are quite a bit smaller than either WAV or AIFF with no loss in sound quality (it is a "lossless" format).

See here for more information about exporting: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fi ... ialog.html
To export as 24 bit WAV you need to set the file format as "other uncompressed files" and then click the "Options" button to select "signed 24 bit PCM" and "WAV" (or "AIFF").
To export as 24 bit FLAC, select FLAC as the file format and then click on the "Options" button and select "24 bit" as the "Bit Depth". The "Level" setting provides slightly smaller file sizes at higher levels but may be a bit slower to encode/decode (you are unlikely to notice much difference between 5 and 8).