How can float numbers of same bit depth as fixed ones give better resolution (SNR in audio) while both can represent same number of unique values?

Question

How can float numbers of same bit depth as fixed ones give better resolution (SNR in audio) while both can represent same number of unique values?

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Answer 1

Floating point numbers have a logarithmic scale to them. That is, they can have, say, eight unique values like 0.01, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, 10 and 30. While integers would have something like 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. This is not a real example, just a demonstration of the principle.