I use iems on any system where a/b ing is done.
I mentioned in my post that (1), (3) are already taken care of.
(2)Over many comparison tests that i have done and continue to do this effect is of course taken care of.
(4) is overcome as the 2 versions are ripped in random sequences by software and usually burned to a cd.
The environment is ensured to be quiet, and although I do understand your skepticism,i am not enforcing you to believe in my experience.
If there is anything else I can do, to prove this as false positive please tell me about it.
Here is your original post:
Unfortunately, whenever you convert a file, there is filtering involved, which introduces some (very slight) changes to the sound. If you don't hear a difference between the 24/96k original and the converted 16/44 version, then this will prove that neither difference is significant (in your test rig, with your sample content, and through your ears). But, if you do hear a slight difference, you won't know for sure how much of it is due to the difference in sample rate or bit depth, and how much is due to slight alterations introduced in the conversion process itself.
It's also fair to remind everyone that we are talking about subtle differences here... subtle to the point where they may only be audible at all with certain source material, or with certain speakers or headphones, and maybe not all of us can hear them at all... however that doesn't rule out the fact that they may be audible and significant under some circumstances. (Either way, they may well be less major than differences between speakers or headphones.)
Another post suggested that the differences may be due to other things - perhaps because a different master was used. While this is certainly true, I think its importance
to end users is being overemphasized. It may matter a great deal
to a music producer, or a streaming service, whether a high-def download really sounds better
because it's high-def or because it was remastered. However, to the person buying and listening to it, all that matters is that the "high-def remaster" does in fact sound better. Most of the current crop of high-def reissues have been remastered, often in a way that is significantly better than the original CD version... in which case it's worth buying because of the better remastering. (I might even suggest that, once we've established that the 24/192 remaster of Album X sounds better than the CD version, we can also assume that the "master copy" of the remaster was in fact done at 24/192. Therefore, even if the sample rate itself doesn't make a significant difference, the 24/192 version will be "a copy of the master" while the 16/44 "CD quality" version will have been converted form that new master - and so will be "one generation out - and possibly slightly different". In that situation, even if we were to agree that the fact that one is at 24/192 didn't actually matter, it would still make sense to buy the 24/192 version that was a direct 1:1 copy of the new master, rather than the 16/44 version which had been converted from it.)
If you accept that many remasters sound better than the original - for whatever reason - then it simply doesn't make sense to agonize over the differences between a 16/44 version and a 24/192k version (the price difference is usually small, and the cost of storage has gotten so low that the size of the file itself simply doesn't matter all that much). A lot of people bought a lot of music in AAC or MP3 format, only to find out later that the difference was obvious on "their new stereo", and end up being disappointed, or end up spending a lot of money buying their collection all over again. I'd rather spend a few $$$ more and buy the best quality version that's available when I make my purchase, and so minimize the risk of having to buy it again later.
(I think it's kind of cool to be able to buy an actual copy of the 24/192k remaster; I used to just hate buying a vinyl album... and knowing that what I had in my hand wasn't nearly as good as the original version that was recorded on the master tape. Even if, in a particular case, I don't notice a difference, It makes me feel better to know that there isn't a better quality copy out there "that I'm missing".)