Dynamic range is the distance, in decibels, between the quietest sound a system can carry above its noise floor and the loudest it can carry before clipping. In the digital domain it is set by bit depth: each bit adds about 6 dB, so 16-bit gives roughly 96 dB and 24-bit about 144 dB — more than any microphone or listening room can actually use. A signal's own dynamic range, the spread from its softest to loudest moments, is a creative property, and broadcast limits it via Loudness Range (LRA) so dialogue doesn't vanish and explosions don't startle. Capturing at 24-bit leaves comfortable margin for both noise and headroom.
The book · Volume 4 of 7
Audio for Video: A Complete Guide to Sound in Video Products: From PCM and Codecs to Loudness, Accessibility, and Real-Time Voice Processing
Dynamic range sets how much quiet detail survives before the noise floor and how much peak survives before clipping. This volume covers dynamic range in detail through sampling, bit depth, headroom and loudness measurement, so your capture, processing and delivery stages agree on levels from the first sample. Written by Nikolay Sapunov, CEO at Fora Soft.
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