track you're going to introduce gain which raises the noise floor... And so you no long have 24 bit dynamic range any more. No 24 bit system delivers the theoretical 144dB signal-noise ratio. The best manage about 120dB, and most about 110dB. If a source recording leaves 15dB headroom -- which is not unusual -- removing the headroom to produce a masted track for commercial release will have a signal-noise ratio of 95dB at the very most... Which, funnily enough, is the same as a perfect 16 bit system. As I said, 16 bits is entirely adequate and well optimised for consumer listening formats. Quote sometimesuk: As for dropping the (24 Bit) high definition bit from the petittion, that's a more difficult as many people have signed up (700+) and I don't want to change the terms once they have signed. I would just say that generally outside of your profession, it is perceived that many 24 Bit actually sounds better (I still think it does sound better). [...] the improvement must be because of the lower noise floor then. As this would make the music easier to follow / sound more detailed. But if this is the only benefit, I still say that this is a worth pursuing, I'm not the only one who has observed this benefit. Also (I do not want to open this can of worms) look at how much money people spend on mains cables, power suppliers and mains filters - in an attempt to