DSP: Granular bit depth control with dither

[BlackJack]

18 bit and 20 bit Schiit DACs as a use scenario.

I was in the belief that devices that report their bit depth correctly, also received the reported bit depth. Is this not right?

DSP Enable lowers Sound Quality

Yes, we dither when reducing bit depth. The dither used is TPDF. Dithering is a basic responsibility in this situation. It’s always worth thinking about significant figures and information density variations (in terms of frequency, amplitude, psychoacoustics) when considering the impact of processes like this. We dither for all reductions…it’s the most important for 16bit output. Some people debate the necessity for 24. For 32, it could probably be skipped but it is still more technically corre…

What additional dithering options are needed?