Audio sample rate calculator
Sample rate sets the highest frequency you can record; bit depth sets the dynamic range. They are independent choices.
Hz
Nyquist frequency
24 000Hz
- Theoretical dynamic range
- 144.494 dB
- Quantisation levels
- 16 777 216
- Uncompressed bitrate
- 2 304 000 bit/s
- File size
- 86.400 MB
- Megabytes per minute
- 17.280
- Time between samples
- 20.8333 microseconds
- Noise floor relative to full scale
- -144.49 dBFS
Show the working
- Sample rate = 48 000
- Bit depth = 24
- Channels = 2
- Duration = 5
- Nyquist frequency = 48 000 / 2 = 24 000
- Theoretical dynamic range = 24 * 6.020599913279624 = 144.494
- Quantisation levels = 2^24 = 16 777 200
- Uncompressed bitrate = 48 000 * 24 * 2 = 2 304 000
- bytes = 2 304 000 * 5 * 60 / 8 = 86 400 000
- File size = 86 400 000 / 1e6 = 86.4
- Megabytes per minute = 86.4 / 5 = 17.28
- Time between samples = 48 000 > 0 ? 1e6/48 000 : 0 = 20.8333
- Noise floor relative to full scale = -144.494 = -144.494
Values are shown to six significant figures here; the arithmetic itself runs on exact fractions and is only rounded where a number is printed.
Scenarios & local history
Compare a saved scenario
Recent calculations
The formula
- Nyquist frequency = sample rate / 2
- dynamic range = 6.02 x bit depth dB, from 20 log10(2^n)
16-bit gives 96 dB of range, more than most rooms have between their noise floor and the pain threshold.
Higher sample rates help during processing by pushing aliasing artefacts further from the audible band, not by capturing audible detail.