#204: What Is Dither in Audio? When and Why to Use It (feat. Ian Stewart)

Music Production and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers and Artists | Inside The Mix

Ever wondered why engineers intentionally add noise to audio? In this episode of Inside the Mix, returning guest, mastering engineer and Berklee professor Ian Stewart, breaks down what dither is, why it’s used, and when to apply it in your music production workflow.

Through clear explanations and real audio demos, Ian demonstrates how dither replaces digital artefacts with smooth, barely noticeable noise, preserving details such as reverb tails and low-level audio that would otherwise be distorted during bit depth reduction.

You’ll learn:

• Do I need to dither when exporting a 24-bit file to a 16-bit file?
• Can skipping dither cause distortion in quiet passages?
• When should you use dither in mastering?

Whether you’re mixing in 32-bit float or exporting for streaming, this episode explains how audio dither helps preserve quality during final delivery and when it’s best to skip it.

Links mentioned in this episode:

Follow Ian Stewart

32-Bit Float Files Explained

Goodhertz Good Dither

Izotope RX 11

Wavelabs 30th Anniversary

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1. What Is Dither in Audio and Why It Matters (00:00:00)

2. How Audio Dither Works: Bit Depth and Quantization Explained (00:06:21)

3. Real Audio Examples: What Dither Sounds Like vs. No Dither (00:15:42)

4. What Is Noise Shaping and How It Improves Dither (00:32:40)

5. When to Apply Dither in Mixing and Mastering (00:34:32)

6. Dither Best Practices for Producers (00:43:13)