Signed 16 bit pcm vs 32 bit pcm

1. Is 16 or 32-bit audio better?
2. Is 16-bit PCM signed?
3. What is 32-bit float PCM?
4. Should you export at 32-bit?

Is 16 or 32-bit audio better?

To put it in perspective, 16-bit audio is capable of recording sound with a dynamic range of up to 96.3 decibels. 24-bit audio recordings can capture a dynamic range of up to 144.5 dB. Meanwhile, 32-bit float audio can capture the absolutely ludicrous range of up to 1,528 dB.

Is 16-bit PCM signed?

The number of possible values that can be represented by an integer bit depth can be calculated by using 2ⁿ, where n is the bit depth. Thus, a 16-bit system has a resolution of 65,536 (2¹⁶) possible values. Integer PCM audio data is typically stored as signed numbers in two's complement format.

What is 32-bit float PCM?

A new format, called 32-bit float in audio circles, encodes audio in an IEEE-754 standard single precision format: 1 bit for positive or negative; 8 bit exponent; and 23 bit fraction. Translated into decibels, that gives a range of more than 1500 dB.

Should you export at 32-bit?

24 bit is usually preferred (and more standard) but 32bit shouldn't be a problem for most mastering engineers, so just ask your ME first. both is fine (but 24bit more typical).