A:Answer It "depends". If you listen to loud music, it has little dynamic range and you don't need a high sample rate. Listening to Classical music, which has a high dynamic range, may tempt you to listen to higher sampled music. But CD quality sound is only recorded at 48kHz. Why, because 48kHz divided by 2 = 24 Hz. A human can only hear up to about 20 Hz frequencies. And, the older you get, the lower the highest frequency you can hear. I'm 60 years old, and can only hear up to about 17Hz. The other factor is the sensitivity of your speakers. Very expensive speakers and receivers can handle the higher frequencies, but your average speaker cannot. But if your ears can't hear these higher frequencies, what does it matter. Experiments with people who listened to "High Resolution Audio" at 96kHz vs CD quality music at 48kHz shows that almost no one can tell the difference. You have to try to listen carefully to certain music notes to tell any difference, and if you are trying to do this, then you really aren't enjoying the music. Although most of us cannot hear these higher frequencies, some will argue that you need these higher frequencies because this sound will echo/reverberate off of walls and change the frequencies of other, lower frequencies. But this has not shown to be true in practice. This is due to the low decibel level of these higher frequencies. You can go to You Tube and see multiple videos explaining these concepts, and make your own decision. Me, I'll be more than happy with 48kHz. Google "Hi Res Audio VS CD" or search "Hi Res Audio VS CD" on You Tube. Let us know what you think.
