24 bit 96khz. whats the deal?

24/96 only works if you have both a 24/96 disc (DVD audio) and player/processor capable of reading 24/96. The sound may differ somewhat when playing a regular CD on, say, a DVD audio player. You will be able to play a "regular" CD on a DVD audio player, but will likely find that it doesn't sound as good as a decent 16/44.1 transport/DA converter. This is just do to the audio quality of the components, and mostly, to the audio quality of the DA chip or converter. Hint: Most current DVD players send a standard 16/44.1 signal on the Digital out, even if they have their own 24/96 inboard capability. Be sure to investigate before buying a new player.

The "Buzz" is that 24/96 DOES make a difference with regular CD's. The filters used supposedly (supposably?) are not as extreme and result in a "less harsh" sound.

Read about it at tweakaudio.com.

An UPSAMPLER that takes the standard 16 bit 44.1 CD digital output and upsamples to 24 bit 96khz which has interpolative algorithms and is then D to A decoded by a 24bit 96 khz can make almost astonishing improvements on standard CDs. Until recently the best known units were from dCS and were five figure investment. Just recently MSB and Perpetual technologies have released much more reasonable products. I'll have them to compare in about two weeks and will report back.

IN REGARD TO YOUR QUESTION AS TO WHETHER "IT" MAKES ANY DIFFERENCE WITH NORMAL CD's, I BELIEVE YOU MIGHT FIND YOUR TIME WELL SPENT, AS I DID, IF YOU WERE TO PICK UP STEREOPHILE MAGAZINE'S APRIL 99 ISSUE (VOL 22 NO. 4) IN WHICH YOU'LL FIND A VERY INFORMATIVE INTERVIEW WITH MUSE ELECTRONIC'S DESIGN ENGINEER KEVIN HALVERSON (DESIGNER OF THE ORIGINAL UNIVERSAL I2S INTERFACE) ENTITLED, "MUSING ON 24/96." THIS HIGHLY INFORMATIVE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW IS ALSO FOLLOWED UP WITH A GREAT REVIEW (CULMINATING IN A CLASS "A" RECOMMENDED COMPONENT RATING) OF THE MUSE MODEL EIGHT DVD/CD TRANSPORT AND THE 296 DVD/CD PROCESSOR COMBO. IN THIS REVIEW, STEREOPHILE MAGAZINE'S SHANNON DICKSON REPORTED "I CONSISTENTLY PREFERRED THE SOUND OF RECORDED MUSIC PLAYED THROUGH THE I2S-EQUIPPED MODEL EIGHT AND 296 FRONT-END OVER THAT OF ANY OTHER SOURCE I'VE HAD IN MY HOME--INCLUDING CD,DVD, OR LP." DURING THE COURSE OF HIS AUDITION MR. SHANNON FURTHER STATED "I WAS CONFIDENT THAT THE HIGH-END MUSE GEAR WOULD SET A NEW BENCHMARK OF REALISM PLAYING DVD's. BUT I WASN'T PREPARED FOR WHAT THEY DID FOR ORDINARY CD's." IN THE CONCLUSION OF HIS REVIEW MR. DICKSON STATED "I'VE BOUGHT MORE THAN 20 CD's IN JUST THE PAST MONTH-- A BINGE UNLIKE ANY I CAN REMEMBER. PERHAPS THAT SAYS IT BEST OF ALL." I THINK YOU SHOULD BE AWARE HOWEVER, SUCH RESULTS ARE NOT TO BE EXPECTED TO SUCH A DEGREE WITH ANYTHING LESS THAN TRUE HI-END GEAR, SUCH AS THAT DESIGNED BY MUSE A PIONEER IN THE FIELD OF TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT OF DISC AUTHORING, AS WELL AS RECORDING AND PLAYBACK HARDWARE FOR THE 24-BIT/96kHz AAD's (ADVANCED AUDIO DISCS). IF YOU LIKE, PLEASE GET BACK TO ME AS I WOULD BE HAPPY TO ARRANGE TO HAVE A FULL REPRINT COPY SENT TO YOU.