We provide music tracks mostly in 16-bit but selected tracks are available in 24-bit format. When your order is complete the high-quality files are ready to download (without demo/preview watermark) as:
- file format .wav
- sample rate: 44.1 kHz
- bit depth: : 16-bit (CD quality) or 24-bit (HD quality)
You may also wonder what are the differences between 16 and 24-bit files, whether those differences have any influence on what format you should choose for your needs? In most cases, the answer is no. As for the purposes of using a music track in a video, a commercial or any other production, there is basically no difference whether you choose 16 or 24-bit file. Naturally, 24 bit means the increased sound quality – but above industry standard for typical broadcasting and production needs). However, what you may actually hear on the radio, TV or from CD player is always 16 bit /44.1 kHz sound.
If you would like to find out more, in details about the difference between 16 and 24-bit music tracks read the FAQ below.
What are the 16-bit music files?
This is a common 'sound quality' used for digital recording of audio files. The typical example is music you play from CD players which are provided in 16-bit / 44.1kHz. Most of our tracks are provided in this quality.
Pliki audio w jakości 24-bit to pliki HD?
Sound files recorded in 24-bit formats are sometimes called 'HD' what stands for 'high destiny' as it refers to the higher resolution of the signal which may be recorded in that format. However, in practice, you won't be able to hear the difference by ear in CD or HD music file.
What is the difference between 16 and 24-bit sound files?
The difference is the bit-depth (16 / 24-bit depth). It defines the scale (scope) of levels used for sound recording in a particular unit of time. In the case of 16-bit files, the signal is recorded in a level scope from 0 to 65.536 units. For 24-bit files, the scope is much wider and its limit reaches the number of 16.777.216 units.
However, this increased scope is not directly audible by the human ear. You won't find any sort of 'magical' sound in 24 bit files when you compare it with the same music track converted to 16-bits. This means 16-bit resolution provides a sufficient range of signal to record sound with the most accurate quality. This is the argument why 16-bit format was chosen for recording music on CDs.
Do I need 16 or 24-bit tracks?
If you plan to use our music tracks in a film, a commercial or any other video production you need 16-bit files but 24 bits are good the same. Looking for particularly 24-bit files, may only be justified, if you would need to do a multi-level sound processing, more complex sound editing tasks or mixing several sound tracks together, etc.
Do 24-bit files cost more?
In our stock music library, you won't pay more for 24-bit files. Higher pricing on 24-bit files would be groundless. Differences in the sound quality of both types of files are not audible (if you compare by ear the same music track recorded with 24-bit and converted to 16-bit resolution). The broadcasting sound quality of music used in the finished movie or commercial is always 16bit. It's a common industry standard.
Why do you offer selected music tracks in 24-bit format?
In most cases, in the last step of studio production, a music track is generally rendered in 24-bit files (to save the best possible quality if the case of any processing task would be needed in future). Then, if it is aimed to be released on CD or other commercial purposes it's manually converted to 16-bit format. And many of our composers provide as music tracks yet in 24-bit format. So we've decided if there is a possibility to offer increased quality of music tracks, before down-sampling to standard 16-bit, they may be useful in some purposes for our customers.
What is the reason for using 24-bit files?
HD, 24-bit format sound files are used mainly for the needs of audio production, sound studios, etc. During mixing of audio tracks, recording sessions and audio mastering tasks. In general, they are usable where advanced sound processing works have to be done: sound editing, adding sound effects on the track, mixing several tracks together, etc. Only in that purpose increased sound quality is justified. It simply offers a wider range of data during sound processing. And this guarantees the final audio track, after processing, will be put in the final form (i.e. on CD) with the least loss of quality.
Summary
The sound which is heard everywhere, no matter it's CD, TV or movie, radio commercial is always 16bit / 44.1kHz. It's good to pay attention to that, in terms of the real quality of music track we want to purchase.