
CHAPTER 30. AUDIO FACT SHEET 369
In all cases, output is rendered and compared with the output of an unsplit version of the
same source. Phase cancellation testing of the two les conrms that they are identical.
30.3 Non-Neutral Operations
Procedures in Live that will cause a change in audio quality are referred to as non-neutral
operations. Users can be guaranteed that using these operations will cause at least some
change to the signal. Applying non-neutral operations to les imported into Live ensures
that the imported audio will differ from the les saved on disk. Applying non-neutral
operations to les being exported from Live ensures that what you hear during realtime
playback will be different from what will end up in your new le.
Non-neutral operations include:
30.3.1 Sample rate conversion/transposition
Sample rate conversion (during both real-time playback and rendering) is a non-neutral
operation. Playback of audio les at a sample rate that is different from the rate set in
Live's Preferences window will cause signal degradation. Transposition is also a form of
sample-rate conversion, and thus also results in non-neutral behavior.
To minimize potential negative results, it is recommended to do sample rate conversion as
an ofine process in another application. Once the samples have been converted to the
sample rate that you plan to use in Live, the les can be imported without any loss of quality.
Rendering audio from Live with a sampling rate other than the one that was used while
working on the project is also a non-neutral operation, and may result in a loss of sound
quality. It is recommended to always render using the original sampling rate, and then
convert the rendered le using a dedicated mastering application that is optimized for
these kinds of CPU-intensive, ofine tasks.
While we recommend that you use a high-quality ofine tool for sample rate conversion,
we recognize that one of Live's core features is its ability to pitch-shift and warp audio in
real time. For this situation, it is necessary to make a trade-off between CPU performance
and precision. We recommend the use of the Hi-Q button for any clips which undergo
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