Amplitude ranges for different bit-depths

1. Does bit depth affect amplitude?
2. How many amplitude levels are in a 16-bit sample?
3. Is bit depth amplitude?
4. Which bit depth is better 16 or 24?

Does bit depth affect amplitude?

The bit depth will determine how precisely we can define the amplitude. For example: If we only had 1 bit, the only 2 possible definitions would be that the amplitude is 1 or 0, on or off. With more bits, we can add more precise values for the amplitude that accurately sample the original analog signal.

How many amplitude levels are in a 16-bit sample?

For perspective, each sample recorded at 16-bit resolution can contain any one of 65,536 unique values (216).

Is bit depth amplitude?

The audio bit depth determines the number of possible amplitude values we can record for each sample.

Which bit depth is better 16 or 24?

The bit depth determines how much information can be stored. A sampling with 24-bit depth can store more nuances and hence, more precise than a sampling with 16-bit depth. To be more explicit, let's see what is the maximum number of values each bit depth can store.