Is anyone still working at the 44.1khz sample rate?

[miscend]

Now that Apple Music supports hi-res lossless audio and Spotify will follow soon. Although Youtube still recommend 44.1. What sampling rate are you guys running your DAW sessions in?

[Aquila]

I only have an i7 6700hq laptop, so I work in 16/44 to conserve CPU power. I still occasionally export at higher resolutions if needs call for it though.

[Rising Night Wave]

always realtime play: 192 and export: 192/24
then i convert WAV into FLAC

[nooomy]

I only produce in 44.1khz, i don't see or hear any reason not to.

[bxbrkrz]

If you need to do extreme sampling manipulations, like pushing stuff 4 octaves up/down, then yes you'll hear a difference.
If you have big clients, give them the highest sample rate. Give them a reason to smile when they pay you.
Go 192 and above if it makes you happy while recording your old romplers

44.1

[orthodox]

I use 24 bits at 44.1 kHz for music production. Higher sampling rates (64@384k) only for LP/tape restoration.

[integerpoet]

There's a lot of superstition about sample rates, but one good reason to go to 48 is that's the rate commonly used for video, and upsampling isn't foolproof. I'm not always producing for video, but I know of no compelling reason to tax my brain with a decision between 44.1 and 48 every time, so unless somebody has specifically told me they have special needs then I just stick with 48. The files aren't that much bigger.

But of course this is just one of a great many format decisions one can be faced with. For example, if you have aspirations of mass success then low-bit-rate MP3 files aren't going away any time soon. You might want to encode your own so you can at least listen and make sure nothing too heinous happens when significant amounts of high-frequency information gets thrown out — even if you then throw out the files because you have no need to keep them.

I'm not sure there is any one-size-fits-all approach (or ever will be).

[guitfnky]

48. it just makes the most sense. anything more than that is useless punishment for your CPU.

[ShelLuser]

When I started with Live, around 2010, I started with 44k1 because that was the best frequency for me, also because my equipment couldn't handle much more at the time. Later on I added an external audio interface to my setup and from that moment on I've always used 48k as my sampling frequency. For me this gives me just enough leverage and room and when I need to produce I always scale down to 44k1 again because of CD's and because it's a good commonly used frequency which also doesn't result in excessively large audio files.

Well, fast forward to today and I've upgraded to a high quality audio interface, but my sampling frequency is still 48k; because this works best for me. I see no need to go higher. Eventually you're going to scale down anyway and well... there's still a limited range of audible frequencies which us humans can hear so... yah. "48k should be enough for everyone?"

[MuttReason]

Now that Apple Music supports hi-res lossless audio and Spotify will follow soon. Although Youtube still recommend 44.1. What sampling rate are you guys running your DAW sessions in?

48Khz, 24 bit here. 24 bit means masses of headroom when recording acoustic instruments or bass/guitar. Don’t need to push the input signal to just below clipping when tracking for maximum quality and can leave around 12dB of headroom for safety then increase gain later when mixing. Not much difference between 44.1 and 48 to my ears TBH but 16 bit vs 24 bit does make a difference.

[aeox]

44.1hkz/16 bit always

[motuscott]

I use 24 bits at 44.1 kHz for music production. Higher sampling rates (64@384k) only for LP/tape restoration.

This guy,
Crucify him.
Herod, flexing,
Does this radical position make me look weak, also fat, also opposing the dominant public opinion?
Yer thots...
just woke up
I also use 441/24
it just works

[dmcghee]

24 bits 48kHz for me always I seem to get more headroom with acoustic instruments.

[Loque]

Only if i hear artefacts/aliasing and don't want them i use higher rates. Id rather would like to use a oversampling plugin, but couldn't find a good and cheap one.

[dvdrtldg]

16/48

[motuscott]

Apologies all around,
yer pal on the sauce

[WasteLand]

Only if i hear artefacts/aliasing and don't want them i use higher rates. Id rather would like to use a oversampling plugin, but couldn't find a good and cheap one.

kushview element, $2.....

i use in Reason 24bit/48.000. reason; Nyquist..

and indeed it is better to use oversampling for a plugin than using a higher sample rate for a project. or better... it works..

(in other DAW's i use now 32 bit float / 48.000, because i also resample, mangle, etc.... it doesn't tax a cpu more... or slightly)

[DaveyG]

24 bit
48kHz or 44.1kHz.

[demt]

Believe it or not I can hear the difference!

[adfielding]

I always tend to work at the same sample rate/bit depth as my intended release format. I'm working at 48khz as that's a pretty solid catch-all for all release formats I'm working toward these days.

That said, I strongly doubt I'll be going higher than 48khz any time soon as I firmly believe digital consumer formats over 48khz are a complete waste of time. Alas, it's easier to market something as being "better" or "higher quality" when there's something quantifiable like a bigger number attached to it, especially when it comes to something as intangible as audio distribution. I've been saying it for years, but I would much, much, MUCH rather see a heavier push towards less heavily compressed releases rather than 192khz/24-bit releases. That said... extra choice is fine, just don't be reserving more dynamic masters exclusively for the higher sample rate/bit depth releases or (and this is a particular peeve of mine) vinyl releases.

Basically: 44/48khz is fine.

[sdst]

I use no more than 48khz

what makes you sound good is knowing how to mix, no masterin or anything else

[Aosta]

24/44 here...read somewhere years ago 44 is best for further conversion but don't know if it really matters these days.
24bit because well..24bit

[mcatalao]

Most times 24/44.1 kHz here. Mostly because though my system can handle it, I do a lot of stuff with audio tracks and more than that is, imho, a waste of storage. The only situations I use different rates, are when a client asks, and most times, there isn't such a requirement unless when making some stuff for video (hence I'll go for 48 kHz or 96 kHz). My current ADC's only go up to 96 kHz anyway, but my DAC goes to 192 kHz.

On a side note, when the first affordable 96 kHz devices started to appear in the mid 2000s, I bought a Maudio 1814 that could go up to 96 kHz. The device had better performance on the output at 48 and 96 kHz, but the quality was the same whether I recorded at 44, 48, 82 or 96 kHz.
I sat this issue down to either the analogue conversion filters at the output of the DAC or different clocks creating conversion issues . That being said, when I bought my first Focusrite (a saffire 26 IO) the quality was the same whatever input or output I used, and it was really hard, if at all possible, to notice any difference, so I'd say a lot of times the issues we can feel are not on the recording format but on the recording and reproduction mechanisms. A good ADC will be transparent at all rates. Same for a DAC. But a bad DAC, or a system that implements 44.1 kHz, and it's multipliers, and 48 kHz, and it's multipliers with different DACs or different clock generators will sound different, and we might judge format where the issue is in fact process. A good difference between theory and practice, well implemented stuff against wrongly implemented stuff.

I like these discussions, but they are quite fruitless, imho! From my 20ish years as a semipro something (musician, composer, arranger, producer, mixing/master engineer and puppeteer) the quality of what I do depends a lot more on everything else than sample rate... from inspiration, knowledge of techniques, musicianship, instruments, music theory, instrumentation, arranging, etc...

[plaamook]

Same here. 44k. Buffer maxed out. Need all the system power I can get for processing.
I bounce in either 44, 96, or 192 depending on the source material but high rates are only for matching the original.

[WOO]

24 bits 48kHz for me as well.