I managed to find something quite interesting.
Look at this graph I found in a YouTube video (here). I think that one good to know difference is that when recording at 16-bit, frequencies below -96 dB don’t get picked-up. This being said, if you’re not recording whispers or very soft sounds (which can be compared to “low light” material in photography), higher resolution is not worth the “storage strain” (not to mention that noise generated by the equipment gets picked up at the same level no matter the resolution used when recording). Or am I wrong?
Proof (project at 16 bit)
So, here I disconnected my condenser mic and left only the cable connected to my Clarett 4Pre USB interface. I lowered the preamp gain to 0 (on my USB interface, that is) and boosted the track signal by 48 dB (in the MixConsole). In the Frequency 2 plug-in, I can see clearly that there’s a signal going in. Ok. Now let’s see what being recorded. Nada! Nothing, that is. This is proof that a higher resolution allows you to record quieter sounds/noises (provided that your “analog parts” — as @Johnny_Moneto said — don’t generate too much noise; if they do, what’s the point of recording at a higher bit resolution?).
In conclusion, I think that recording at a higher resolution than 16-bit when one doesn’t have the proper equipment is like trying to overcome the lack of light by increasing the ISO value on a small sensor camera…
