From Bits to CD

 

• 16 bits (usual sampling width) = 2 bytes (1 byte = 8 bits, or two nibbles)
  
• conventional sampling rate = 44.1khz (1 sample = 16 bits, standard resolution)
  
• 1 second of monaural sound is 44.1k words (16-bits), so...
  
• 1 second of monaural sound is 88.2kbytes, or 88, 200 bytes
  
• 1 minute of monaural sound = 88.2kb * 60 = 5,292kb (roughly, 5 megabytes)
  
• 1 minute of stereo sound = 5,292kb * 2 = 10,584kb (roughly, 10.5 megabytes)
  
• If a typical audio CD fits somewhere between 70 - 80 minutes of stereo sound, a CD holds somewhere between 735 - 840 megabytes