[Ike1985]

After reading the article at http://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html I have decided that it is pointless, a waste of space and may even be detrimental to playback to use anything higher than 24bit/48khz on my devices-even if the device is capable of higher playback.  It’s complicated but you’ll have to read the article to see why-it’s over my head but I trust the gentleman’s knowledge given his level of expertise. 
Knowing this, should I downscale my collection of music all to 24bit/48khz per his recommendation?  He actually recommends 16bit /48bit but I’m just not willing to go to 16bit and he said it actually won’t hurt processing or playback on devices to use 24bit.
About my setup:
The “ultimate” DAP I will likely be using some day is the ZX2, I don't use desktop setups and I don't use headphones. 
I will be using it with my ADEL A12 CIEMS:

1. Impedance: 16 Ohms
   
   
2. Sensitivity: +/- 116dB SPL @ 1mW
   
   
3. Freq. Response: 10Hz – 20 kHz
   
   
4. Noise Isolation: Adjustable via ADEL™ technology
   
   
5. Noise Isolation: -18dB with ADEL™ Auto Module
   
   

 

[PurpleAngel]

By down scaling, do you mean taking your current music files, which I'm assuming were recorded higher then 24-bit/48K?
and recording them to 24-bit/48K?
 
Why even rerecord your music audio?
Maybe if you needed to free up storage space?

 

[MindsMirror]

Hard drives are cheap so I wouldn't bother converting all of my music. If you don't want to connect an external drive to store or listen to music, and you use a device that you can't easily add more storage space to, that could be a compelling reason. For use on a portable player I would convert everything to 16bit/44.1KHz or a lossy format and keep the originals on my computer.
 
Try doing a comparison before and after converting a 24bit file to 16 bit. It's extremely unlikely you will hear a difference. If storage space is a concern, 24bit files are pointless.

 

[limpidglitch]

Sure, why not?
A waste of space is a waste of space, no matter how cheap it is.

 

[dprimary]

If your device can play them I would leave them. If it can't play them or you can't fit what you want onto your devices then you might want to. I would keep the originals. I you have to reduce the file use the best sample rate conversion of encoder you can find, they are not equal. Isotope RX4 sounds amazingly good but is not cheap. 
The main danger of ultrasonic content is that if for some reason a file or a player malfunctions amplifiers can fail, drivers are blown and you have no idea what is going on because most systems don't display information above 20k. Some amp like Lab Groupen touring amps look for excessive ultrasonic content and will try to protect and warn you.
 
I have been pestering a few manufacturers about if their systems go above 20k then the metering needs for go up to the maximum frequency the equipment can go. Of course then they might have to explain why their software goes to 96k and above the hardware has 96k convertors however when you record a sweep and play it back your watch the sweep go to 21.5k then drops on an analyzer. 

 

[Ike1985]

  By down scaling, do you mean taking your current music files, which I'm assuming were recorded higher then 24-bit/48K?
and recording them to 24-bit/48K?
 
Why even rerecord your music audio?
Maybe if you needed to free up storage space?

I mean using XLD on mac to convert the files from 192/24 to 48/24 and deleting the originals.

 

[Ike1985]

Quote:

  Sure, why not?
A waste of space is a waste of space, no matter how cheap it is.

 
I can only fit one hard drive in my old Mac book pro(which I love), currently I have 1TB which was only $30-i should have gotten 2TB! I will never make that mistake again
 
 
Quote:

  Hard drives are cheap so I wouldn't bother converting all of my music. If you don't want to connect an external drive to store or listen to music, and you use a device that you can't easily add more storage space to, that could be a compelling reason. For use on a portable player I would convert everything to 16bit/44.1KHz or a lossy format and keep the originals on my computer.
 
Try doing a comparison before and after converting a 24bit file to 16 bit. It's extremely unlikely you will hear a difference. If storage space is a concern, 24bit files are pointless.

 
Thanks.

 

[limpidglitch]

  Quote:
 
I can only fit one hard drive in my old Mac book pro(which I love), currently I have 1TB which was only $30-i should have gotten 2TB! I will never make that mistake again
 

 
I'm very much in the same situation. I have an older MBP which I've upgraded with a 1TB hybrid drive. Now I'm contemplating whether I should up it to 2TB or install a second drive in the CD-ROM bay.
I have no HD music to worry about, though.

 

[RRod]

Why not just buy a larger external drive to keep originals and then process everything into something like AAC 256 for using on your laptop?

 

[goodyfresh]

That's what I did, in order to free up space for future use.  Since I can't hear any difference anyway in blind-testing between 24/192 and 16/44.1 or 16/48, I figured there was no reason not to convert everything to lower depth and sample-rate.