quantization error
When a quantized signal, i.e. a digital signal, is converted back into an analog signal, quantization errors occur which depend on the number of bits of the digital signal.
Due to the quantization distortions, the analog signal does not exhibit any continuity, but is more or less staircase-shaped depending on the number of bits.
The higher the quantization, the lower the quantization error, which is noticeable as quantization noise in the playback of audio signals. With 4-bit quantization, the dynamic range is 24.08 dB and the maximum quantization error is 6.25%. With 8-bit the dynamic range is 48.16 dB and the max. quantization error is 0.39 %, with 16-bit it is 96.3 dB and 0.015 % and with 24-bit the max. dynamic range is 144.5 dB and the possible quantization error is '0.056*10°-6'. This quantization error is expressed by noise during the playback of audio signals, the quantization noise.