Though It's exactly what I was told when I asked to a tech guy why most cheap / integrated PC soundcards main sampling freq was always 48khz, and not 44.1, he answered that RIAA demanded this as an anti-piracy measure to avoid making digital true 1:1 copy of audio CDs.

Only Pro digital audio hardware, at the time, was capable of true 44.1khz without any conversion / resampling.

Do you remember the DAT cassette format? All the mainstream DAT devices were 48khz, only Pro / high level DAT models had the possibility to switch to 44.1 (I remember particularly well The Tascam model we use to record my best friend's first single... Do you see the selector to change the sampling rate? it's because it was sold as a pro model, to a pro market).

See also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_Act

 

Last edited: Oct 25, 2022

Na 39.1 kHz is superior for that mAgIc mUsiCaL sound.

 

44.1 was picked because 20Khz is the upper limit of human hearing and most musical reproduction systems and 44.1 gets you to 22Khz while satisfying Nyquist. That simple, afaik.

 

These days I exclusively use 96K. It works much better when you add effect plugins, especially distortion (Amp or overdrive) and analog situation plugins. It also removes the need for oversampling.

 

I am building a new studio and people ask "44.1?"
I tell them,"44.1....44.2. Whatever it takes."

 

There's nothing wrong with using 44.1
Enable oversampling when possible with saturation and non linear plugins but don't take it for granted that oversampled is always better , depends on the plugin and implementation
Use your ears (blind a/b preferably) to determine.
Worry more about how to perfect your productions , recording , mixing skills and listening environment
The rest is negligible in comparison

 

For some unknown reason I think 4.20... I mean 42.0 Khz would the best, even to retain those HIGHS

 

i run 22.05 because I put a brickwall lpf at 7k, that way no matter how bad my hearing gets when I'm older I'll always hear my song the same.

 

Probably worth checking your entire setup if you can reliably tell the difference between 44.1kHz and 48kHz. Could be something with your operating system, hardware, drivers, DAW or one or your plugins.

Most non-technical people have whatever they're listening to up or downsampled to 48kHz most of the time anyway, even when they think they're listening to some other SR.
At least on Windows.

 

https://shorturl.at/fgV39

 

Great stuff isn't it? Cannot beat the original. If they had worked out a way to prevent tape from oxidizing , decaying, stretching and degrading over time, there would likely have never been a need to remove it, or for that matter flood the market with 50% of so-called analog plugins that are as close to analog as a fish is to an elephant. (I was in support not opposition BTW )

 

I always quote a paper on this that proves how the Nyquist Shannon filter of 44.1khz impacts the audible high end too much but I forgot where to find it now.
Just use 44.8k or higher and you are golden

I have to add: whose counter doesn't get hidden from watchers

 

432hz


440hz


Behemoth

 

Last edited: Oct 26, 2022

I love this video because it's not a showing of technical knowledge, but instead a great look at how you can convince yourself of things that don't exist/aren't really broken just by attributing it to something you are already biased against. Feels like a horoscope for audio engineers: the alignment of the moon and planets today will make math sound harsh when converted to analog signal.

 

Coming up next (again): 432 Hz vs 440 Hz tuning…

 

At this point, I'm more confused than I was before. But thank you for this marvelous discussion.

 

Btw, I found the pdf: Why 48khz is the recommended minimum
https://naras.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/recommendations_for_hires_music_production_09_28_18_0

 

And i do agree on this statement too. There is a level of sanity you need to have if you want to feel stuff, or health, either way i agree on the bias problematic.

What i want to hear people talking is that story of Rupert Neve and a "malfunctioned" console channel that was reported by the engineer in the studio.
-> there were no problem listening to a channel, but the dude who were mixing on it felt difference and upon inspection Rupert said there were actuall problem in the 45k range, so i am kinda off the bull**** conversation untill i get that console and see it myself.

Should we talk about D3 defficiency and hearing...mmm...rabbit holes :D