Audio Sample Rate Converter

Audio quality depends on sample rate, bit depth, and channels.

Common sample rates:

• 8,000 Hz: Telephone quality
• 22,050 Hz: AM radio quality
• 44,100 Hz: CD quality (standard)
• 48,000 Hz: DVD/Blu-ray, professional video
• 88,200 Hz: High-resolution audio (2x CD)
• 96,000 Hz: Studio/professional audio
• 192,000 Hz: Ultra high-resolution audio

Common bit depths:

• 8-bit: Low quality (256 levels)
• 16-bit: CD quality (65,536 levels)
• 24-bit: Professional studio (16.7 million levels)
• 32-bit float: Mastering, high headroom

Bit rate formula:

• Bit rate (bps) = Sample Rate x Bit Depth x Channels
• CD quality: 44,100 x 16 x 2 = 1,411,200 bps = 1,411 kbps

File size formula:

• Size (MB) = Bit Rate x Duration (seconds) / 8 / 1,048,576
• 1 minute of CD audio = about 10.1 MB (uncompressed WAV)

The 44,100 Hz figure isn’t arbitrary. The Nyquist rule says you must sample at least twice the highest frequency you want to capture, and human hearing tops out near 20,000 Hz, so a bit over 40,000 samples a second covers it with margin for the filters. That’s why CD audio landed where it did. Video gravitated to 48,000 Hz instead, mostly for clean sync with frame rates, which is why exporting audio for a film project usually means working at 48k rather than 44.1k.

Bit depth is the part people mix up with sample rate. Sample rate sets how often you measure; bit depth sets how finely each measurement is graded, and that controls dynamic range, the gap between the quietest and loudest sound before noise or clipping. 16-bit gives about 96 dB of range, plenty for finished music, while 24-bit’s extra headroom is what makes it the working standard for recording and mixing, where you want room to push levels without hitting the noise floor. Whether anyone can truly hear 96 or 192 kHz over 48 is hotly argued; the safe take is that high sample rates help during editing more than during playback.