Steinberg NUENDO 8 I/O 96k Handbuch Seite 38

Noise level in DS operation
The outstanding signal to noise ratio of the Nuendo 8 I/O 96k can be verified even
without expensive test equipment, e.g. by using the record level meter of WaveLab
3.0. When activating the DS mode the displayed noise level will rise from -113 dB to -
100 dB. This is not a failure. This kind of measurement measures the noise of the whole
frequency range, at 96 kHz from 0 Hz to 48 kHz (RMS unweighted). When limiting the
measured area to 22 kHz (audio bandpass, weighted) the value would be -110 dB
again.
The reason for this behaviour is the noise shaping technology used in the Nuendo 8 I/
O 96k' analog to digital converters. They move all noise and distortion to the in-audi-
ble higher frequency range, above 24 kHz. That's how they achieve their outstanding
performance and sonic clarity. Therefore the noise is slightly increased in the ultra-
sound area. High-frequent noise has a high energy. Add the doubled bandwidth
(which already lowers the measured SNR by 3 dB), and a wideband measurement will
show a drop of 10 dB in SNR, while the human ear will notice absolutely no change in
the audible noise floor.
NUENDO 8 I/O 96k
38 16 bit Operation and Dither