With the latest update, you are given the option to change both the sampling rate and bit-depth to allow for bit-perfect playback. It does however require a restart of the program before taking into effect.
Yes, but on my system it does not appear to either be outputting WASAPI, or actually changing the sample rate - if I set the system output to 24/48, and my player to 24/44, I normally hear a "pop" in my headphones as the player changes the sample rate. iTunes does not do this when set to 24/44. Perhaps someone with an external DAC that shows the sample rate it is being sent could confirm this.
In terms of which audio player works best (and with what external utility), I find no audible difference between J River's Media Center; MediaMonkey; Foobar2000; and iTunes.
The difference is that JRiver has a very good gapless WASAPI Event Style output, and great controls over sample rates - you have individual control for what happens to: <44.1, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, >192, whether to bitstream DSD, output it as DoP, or convert it to PCM. You can even set a delay on the audio to account for how long your system takes to switch sample rates. And if you want to use DSP at all (ReplayGain, EQ etc.) it is all done with 64-bit precision which is better than most.
A lot of these things are just convenience (i.e. not having to manually switch sample rate, not having to rip discs to a single file for gapless WASAPI output etc.) but quality should be better if you are using DSP.
If you aren't using DSP and all your files are 16/44 CD rips, then another player outputting 16/44 WASAPI (or 24/44 - it doesn't matter) should sound identical.
And you don't
need WASAPI to output bit-perfect either - it just makes it easier.
As long as a player is decoding correctly and you have a bit-perfect output, they should all sound the same.
I actually prefer iTunes' interface over anything else I've tried so far, but it's a nuisance to get bit-perfect output, and even when you do, it's not outputting WASAPI Exclusive/Event, so you can still hear system sounds etc. while music is playing. JRiver seems to be the best alternative though, and the interface isn't that bad once you learn it - the problem is that you have to learn how to configure it the way you want, whereas iTunes is mostly fine out of the box.