[zkSNARK]

I doubt that is the case. Most systems which I have used actually sound better at the higher sampling rates. This is not because the sampling rates cause anything to sound better, but because the hardware works better at those rates. In a blind test, you wouldn't be able to decide which one you liked better, only that there is a difference. At least on the machines I have, there are some clearly audible differences.

[nullc]

> you wouldn't be able to decide which one you liked better, only that there is a difference.

Yet people have been reliably _unable_ to do this.

The gold standard in listening tests for this is an ABX where you are simply trying to show that you can discern a difference.

When properly setup and calibrated people are unable to show that they can distinguish 48kHz and 192kHz.

Moreover, by the numbers, audio hardware tends to work less well at higher rates if they're different, because running them at higher rates makes their own internal noise shaping less powerful. (Though for anything done well the distinction should still be inaudible).

Finally, if you do have cruddy converters that sound significantly different at different rates nothing stops you from using a transparent software resampler (SSRC is well respected for good reason) to put the audio at whatever rate you want.. until you get better hardware. :)

[SmooL]

"In a blind test, you wouldn't be able to decide which one you liked better, only that there is a difference"

That would have to be the noise. The math doesn't lie...

[zkSNARK]

I'm not talking about noise or other artifacts from the conversion process. I am talking about differences in bass and treble balance that come from different engineering in the converters at different frequencies. In some converters, there are actually completely different circuits that engage for different frequencies. The converters that I have experienced do this, and they all have a noticeable effect on what we hear.