How to Use Waves L1 to Master a CD at Higher Than 16 Bits

Limiting should be the final step in the mastering process.

An audio recording's bit depth is one of the factors that determines its level of quality. Older video game systems, for example, used 8-bit audio, while audio CDs nearly always have a bit depth of 16. Some high-end specialized CD players can play audio recorded at even higher bit depths. If you use the Waves L1 Ultramaximizer as part of your audio mastering chain, you can configure this limiter's options to support audio recorded at higher than 16 bits.

Instructions

1. Launch your digital audio workstation and open the project containing the audio that you want to master. Add the Waves L1 Ultramaximizer plug-in to the master channel.

2. Click and drag the "Threshold" slider to approximately 5 dB. Set the "Output Ceiling" slider to -0.3 dB. Drag the "Release" slider to 1 ms.

3. Click the "Quantize" button in the L1 Ultramaximizer until it reads "24 bits." If you recorded the audio at 24 bits, click the "Dither" button until it says "None." If you recorded the audio at a higher bit depth, set the "Dither" control to "Type1."

4. Click the "Shaping" button until it displays "Normal." Click the "Domain" button to toggle it to "Analog." Export the audio from the digital workstation and burn it to a CD.

Tips & Warnings

• The Waves L1 Ultramaximizer cannot increase the bit depth of recorded audio.

• Most CD players do not support 24-bit audio.

References

• Waves: L1 Ultramaximizer Plug-in Manual (PDF)

Resources

• Waves: L1 Ultramaximizer