minimum bits require for conversion of audio signals

Hello sir
I want to know about how many minimum bits require to convert a very short audio signals in an analog to digital convertor design or say how many op amps have to use ? is it possible with simple op amps or have to choose any special for the purpose ? please explain
thanks

1 bit ( it is called sigma-delta encoding for ADC) OTherwise DAC's use R/2R switches to convert D 2 A. The other method is logarithmic like A law using in American Telephony or µ Law for the ROTW but that is based on high dynamic range companding with 7 or 8 bits. Compression on short bursts works poorly since you need a library of sounds to get high compression. If you have windows> Control Panel> audio devices> hardware> audio Codecs will tell you what you have installed..

Not sure if you want minimum bytes or minimum bits. and also bandwidth available and Quality are all user design choices you must make. But otherwise. Typical MP3 is 10:1 compression over PCM uncompressed but 100:1 is possible on longer bursts with more distortion and less BW.

Using a digital sound processing program on your computer, you can record sounds from a microphone, and observe the waveform onscreen.

You can set the number of bits used for digitizing. (Normal CD quality is 16 bits.)

You can set the number of samples per second. (Normal CD quality is 44.1 kHz.)

You can compare the resulting sound quality as you try out various settings.

A popular free program is Audacity. It can be found at software download websites. For Macintosh or Windows.