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Originally Posted by Noto
I'm recording on a Tascam 2488 Neo (with a higher end preamp) at 44.1, 24 bit and importing the wavs into my PC to edit and EQ in REAPER and then I bring my files to a local studio who also has REAPER for mastering.
What should my REAPER Audio Device Settings be and how do they affect the sound that I have already recorded?
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The 'quality' of the original recording as far as the digital format and devices used is determined by the AD converter quality. The microphone and mic preamp are of course the initial big players. The AD converter is what converts that signal to digital. The format you choose can affect weather or not you completely capture that now digitized signal or only save part of it. Following that thought - if you choose a lossy or lower quality digital format (like mp3 or 16 bit respectively), you would be losing some of the data on the way in and you would never be able to get it back. Just like forgetting to hit record in a way.
Using the 24 bit format is the most important part and you did just that.
SD sample rates like 44.1k are fine and can contain complete fidelity. HD sample rates give you that last few percent absolute perfection and are also more robust to any damage (like generational copy damage in broadcast situations where some compromise is accepted for convenience and workflow). If you're being snobby, AD and DA converters run a little cleaner with the extra wide margin around the audio band that HD gives. (This has NOTHING to do with frequencies above hearing!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noto
I currently am using WAVOUT with Microsoft Sound Mapper.
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That's your OS audio utility app. OSX user here, so no opinion good or bad with the different Windows driver options.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noto
Can my sound card degrade what I am processing on my computer?
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No. Very simply absolute no.
Your pci audio interface has your AD and DA converters. The quality of the AD determines the recording quality at the time of the recording as mentioned above. You're shuttling digital data around in the computer. When you simply copy - without intentionally digitally altering - digital audio, it's 1:1 identical. Your DA stage determines the quality you listen back to as far as the digital back to analog conversion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noto
Thanks for any help!
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You're welcome!