I might be opening up Pandora's box here, but here goes:
this relates to high res music files. If you rip a CD to your computer, that music signal is a 16 bit, 44.1kHz signal. Modern music recording is usually done in a higher resolution these days. You can buy high-res music from websites on the internet like HDtracks. The bit depth is how much music information the DAC "eats" at a time, 24 bits is more info than 16. The kHz rating is how many times per second the analog signal is sampled to convert it to a digital signal. 44.1kHz, or 44,100 times per second, came about because of a scientific reason that escapes me currently, but it is twice the highest limit of human hearing, which is supposedly around 22,000kHz. I sure as hell cannot hear sounds that high, but OK, whatever the scientists say.
It is the sampling frequency that is getting buzz right now, almost all high-res music files are 24 bit, but you will see multiples of both 44.1 and 48 in the sampling specifications on high res music files, which read like this: 24/48, 24/96, 24/192, and the less common 24/44.1, 24/88.2, and 24/176.4. Most modern DACs re-hash incoming digital signals to 24/96 or 24/192, which means every digital audio signal fed to the DAC gets "upsampled," a controversial process that is supposed to push high-frequency artifacts beyond the spectrum of human hearing. But not all DACs that can accept a 24/192 signal coming in. To send this signal, you would have to play the 24/192 music file from your computer.
How does all this relate to the Denon/Onkyo debate? The Onkyo will upconvert to 24/192, the Denon will only upconvert to 24/96. The Onkyo *should* accept 24/192 high res music signals thru its digital inputs, the Denon will not.
Can you hear a difference between 24/96 and 24/192 upsampling? Some people can. Some can't. Some people use DACs that don't upconvert at all. Some people don't care, and just love music!!!
this relates to high res music files. If you rip a CD to your computer, that music signal is a 16 bit, 44.1kHz signal. Modern music recording is usually done in a higher resolution these days. You can buy high-res music from websites on the internet like HDtracks. The bit depth is how much music information the DAC "eats" at a time, 24 bits is more info than 16. The kHz rating is how many times per second the analog signal is sampled to convert it to a digital signal. 44.1kHz, or 44,100 times per second, came about because of a scientific reason that escapes me currently, but it is twice the highest limit of human hearing, which is supposedly around 22,000kHz. I sure as hell cannot hear sounds that high, but OK, whatever the scientists say.
It is the sampling frequency that is getting buzz right now, almost all high-res music files are 24 bit, but you will see multiples of both 44.1 and 48 in the sampling specifications on high res music files, which read like this: 24/48, 24/96, 24/192, and the less common 24/44.1, 24/88.2, and 24/176.4. Most modern DACs re-hash incoming digital signals to 24/96 or 24/192, which means every digital audio signal fed to the DAC gets "upsampled," a controversial process that is supposed to push high-frequency artifacts beyond the spectrum of human hearing. But not all DACs that can accept a 24/192 signal coming in. To send this signal, you would have to play the 24/192 music file from your computer.
How does all this relate to the Denon/Onkyo debate? The Onkyo will upconvert to 24/192, the Denon will only upconvert to 24/96. The Onkyo *should* accept 24/192 high res music signals thru its digital inputs, the Denon will not.
Can you hear a difference between 24/96 and 24/192 upsampling? Some people can. Some can't. Some people use DACs that don't upconvert at all. Some people don't care, and just love music!!!