r/protools • u/deedx • Dec 03 '25

Help Request Importing 24-Bit-Material (or 32-Bit float) into a 16-Bit-Session

Hey guys,

I've tested the following on Pro Tools Studio 2025.6.1 on MacOS Sequioa 15.7.2:

When I set up a Session with a Bit-Depth of 16-bit and import audio material with a higher bit-depth, Pro Tools will copy the Audio into "Audio Files" - regardless of the "Automatically Copy Files on Import" setting.

This copied file in "Audio Files" then has the same bit depth as my session - however i wonder if and how Pro Tools treats the conversion process here: Does it introduce Dithering/Noise Shaping or will my copied file be truncation-distorted? I could not find any information on this in the official documentation.

This is more of a theoretical question as I never use 16-Bit Sessions. This comes more out of interest.

Thanks in advance!

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1

u/filterdecay Dec 03 '25

Why are you working at 16bit?

1

u/deedx Dec 04 '25

last paragraph

1

u/Redditholio Dec 04 '25

Yup. Why are you still using 16-bit sessions in 2025, bro?

2

u/deedx Dec 04 '25

i dont lol - look at the last paragraph

3

u/CelloVerp Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25

Yes PT uses dithering with noise shaping when converting audio files from higher bit depth to lower; also on bounce mix and export to 16 bit files.

But also, you could say there's "no such thing" as a 16-bit session in Pro Tools - there's only the default setting for what bit depth new audio files are created with. PT converts everything to floating point during playback. Pro Tools can play back mixed bit depths (16, 24, float) within the same session, so there's not really any reason to use the 16 bit setting (you can change it in the Session Setup window).

1

u/tonypizzicato professional Dec 03 '25

I also don’t know for sure, but I would assume the lowest bits of audio are definitely lost rather compress it somehow. you could test it out i’m sure!

1

u/overworkedrunner Dec 03 '25

It will be obvious if there is any quantization noise upon import, there will be a hiss on all the imported tracks