Changing Audacity’s Sampling Rate To 48,000 Hz

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David H. Lawrence XVII July 12, 2019
8 Comments
Photo by OLEG PLIASUNOV on Unsplash

Hey there!

Got this note from a client today:

David,

I’m working with a producer on an audiobook (outside of ACX) and he wants me to send him the raw audio in what he calls 48000. What does that mean and how do I do that?

Karen

It’s actually pretty easy, but it’s not advisable. Either way, here’s the answer.


Hope this helps!

David

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  1. Suzan Lorraine July 13, 2019

    I’ve been doing some books for Learning Ally and they prefer 22050 and unmastered .mp3 files for submission which they then master. What does that sampling level do?

    1. David Wandelt July 13, 2019

      44,100 is for stereo (two tracks at 22,050 each). If you’re sending just one mono track, the sound quality of 22,050 should be identical. Perhaps DHLXVII has a different take on it.

  2. ed waldorph July 13, 2019

    My only comment is that Sample Rate, set during recording, is most important when saving files—primarily for compatibility with player software and devices. It also factors in if you work with Digital Video Workstation programs.

    Without going into excruciating and boring detail, after looking into it, I have decided to record at 48 KHz Sample Rate and then down-sample to 44.1 KHz when saving for audio projects. This keeps the higher Sample Rate uncompressed files for later pickups or processing or use in DV.

    I was heartened when this was validated recently by Tim Tippets.

    1. David H. Lawrence XVII July 13, 2019

      Because we’re recording mono to begin with, the interleaving of two sets of 22,050 samples per second is not the same as one set of 44,100 samples. I’d leave it right where it is at 44,100 so as not to cause any issues down the line with mathematical analysis of the sound by testing engineers.

  5. Brian Arens July 13, 2019

    Hi David,

    I realize that maybe you didn’t want to go into a lot of technical detail in your answer, but having watched the video, I don’t feel like I got anything that I would be able to potentially say to a client when pushing back and suggesting they stick with 44.1 kHz other than “that’s the way things work.” I heard you say at some point (I think?) that putting it at 48 kHz can cause problems down the line, but I’ve never heard that before, and without knowing more I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it to a client because of the obvious egg-on-my-face follow-up:

    me: putting it at 48 kHz can cause problems
    client: what kind of problems?
    me: [crickets]

    Are you able to provide more detail in a way doesn’t make those of us who aren’t super tech-savvy go cross-eyed?

    Thanks!
    Brian