How soft is softer?
Let me just say that 16 bits allow reproduction of loud to soft sounds that exceed our requirements. Well recorded 16 bit material is excellent and more than we need. 24 bit audio allows for even better quality soft sounds and so is slightly preferred. Unfortunately, not all digital video formats allow 24 bit audio to be used. Digibeta, for example, truncates at 20 bits. Until only recently, Avid software recognized only 16 bit audio. The best of all worlds is to give me 24 bit depth, if you have it. Otherwise, 16 and dont sweat it.
