what is bit depth audio

Bit depth in digital audio refers to the number of bits of information in each sample, which directly corresponds to the resolution of each sample. The audio bit depth determines the number of possible amplitude values we can record for each audio sample, and the higher the bit depth, the more amplitude values per sample are captured to recreate the original audio signal. The most common audio bit depths are 16-bit, 24-bit, and 32-bit, with each representing a number of possible values. Higher bit depths mean higher resolution audio, and more amplitude values are available for us to record, resulting in a digital approximation of the amplitude that is closer to the original fluid analog wave. Bit depth also affects the signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range of recordings. Techniques such as dithering, noise shaping, and oversampling can mitigate the effects of variations in bit depth without changing it.