Dithering When Mastering: 24-Bit to 16-Bit and CD Delivery

Dithering when mastering: why you need it reducing 24-bit to 16-bit, types of dither, and when to skip it.

Dithering adds low-level noise when reducing bit depth (e.g., 24-bit → 16-bit for CD). Without dither, truncation causes distortion on quiet passages. Streaming often uses lossy codecs from 24-bit masters — dither matters most for CD and fixed-point exports.

Key takeaways
  • Dither at the final bit-depth reduction step only
  • Do not dither twice in the same chain
  • Export 24-bit WAV for aggregators; let them encode
  • See Export WAV for Mastering

Online workflow

Master at 24-bit, export lossless, apply dither only if downconverting for CD. Use Sample Rate Converter for format changes in Tools.

Master lossless

AI Mastering → download WAV.

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