I have been looking to get a sound card to decode mp3's for my home theater. I have been reading around here and over the net about sample rates and bit depth... 16/48kHz compared to 24/96kHz. I am starting to believe that for the end user (just decoding the mp3's) there will be pretty much no difference between the two. I have found that some people believe different but I think generally people agree there is nothing to be gained by decoding an mp3 at 24/96... is this true?

Anyhow, I am partial to using windows media player for my music and wanted to know if it would even decode an mp3 at 24/96kHz? I know it has the capabilities with DVD's but I couldn't find anywhere if it will decode a regular mp3 at high resolution/bit depth... I know programs like fb2k will decode that high also, but the same question applies- Does the file have to first be encoded at a high bit depth/resolution to then later be beneficially decoded that high again???


here is the link that claims 24 bit is beneficial for mp3's. If this turns out to be true, then I may look for a 24 bit card, and possibly change music players to something that supports it (if WMP doesnt).



I know this has been discussed many times here, but I still dont understand the role software has in decoding bit depth, etc. Also, I never found any clear winner for 16/48 vs. 24/96 when "decoding" mp3's. Maybe someone with a better understanding could give me some opinions with my dilemma.

Any input is appreciated.

moderators,

there have been quite a few views and no replies.
If anyone feels this thread would be better suited somewhere else, please feel free to move it.

MP3s do not support sample rates above 48khz. You can resample the decoded data to 96kHz, but this is generally pointless unless your sound card does not properly support 44.1 or 48KHz.



Theres no point in using a higher sampling rate then your source material. The ideal way to do things is to use 44.1khz for all CD audio all the way through. If you hardware doesn't support 44.1khz, you will have to resample.

That was my gut instinct, but after reading and starting to understanding things I was unsure if I knew exactly what was happening.

Thanks,