Recording Calculators
Sample rate, bit depth, file size, headroom, gain staging and recording time calculators.
Sample Rate Calculator
Calculate maximum reproducible frequency (Nyquist) and convert between common sample rates for digital audio. Free online calculator.
Bit Depth Calculator
Calculate dynamic range, signal-to-noise ratio and quantisation levels from bit depth. Essential for digital audio recording decisions.
Audio File Size Calculator
Estimate uncompressed audio file sizes for WAV, AIFF and other recording formats based on sample rate, bit depth and channel count.
Track Count Calculator
Calculate storage space and bandwidth requirements for multitrack recording sessions based on track count, sample rate and bit depth.
Headroom Calculator
Calculate available headroom from peak level and convert between dBFS and dBu scales. Essential for professional recording and mixing.
Gain Staging Calculator
Calculate optimal gain settings through your recording signal chain to maximise signal-to-noise ratio and headroom. Free calculator.
Preamp Gain Calculator
Calculate the required preamp gain from microphone sensitivity and your target recording level. Optimise your recording signal chain.
Recording Time Calculator
Calculate available recording time from storage capacity, sample rate, bit depth and number of tracks. Free online audio calculator.
8 free calculators in Recording
Digital Recording Fundamentals
Digital audio recording converts analogue sound into a stream of numbers. Two key parameters define the quality of this conversion: sample rate and bit depth. The sample rate (measured in Hz or kHz) determines the highest frequency that can be captured — by the Nyquist theorem, the maximum frequency is half the sample rate. The bit depth determines the dynamic range and noise floor of the recording.
Professional recording typically uses 24-bit at 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz or 96 kHz. 24-bit provides approximately 144 dB of theoretical dynamic range, far exceeding the capabilities of any microphone or analogue electronics. Higher sample rates capture frequencies above 20 kHz, which some engineers prefer for the headroom they provide during processing.
Proper gain staging — setting levels correctly through each stage of the signal chain — is crucial for achieving the best signal-to-noise ratio while maintaining adequate headroom to avoid clipping.