Hey guys,
As there are a lot of knowledgeable people here 
One small question : 44.1khz - 48khz - 96khz.
Which one do you prefer for your projects ?
Some may be 44.1khz lovers (as KPA team), even professionals, but the standard seems to be at least 48khz or 96khz
thank you for your inputs. I am preparing an album and for your information, my bounces will be treated after in a sommateur spl mixdream before mixing/mastering.
In any case, 24 bits is the minimum.
44.1 kHz all the way 
(and of course 24 bits).
Even if there was a perceptible difference (which there isn't :-D), everything else will have a much bigger impact on the finished product; choice of guitar, profile, pickup height, choice of pick, angle of pick attack, how it is mixed, how well the guitars tone fits the bass tone, how bass tone fits drums, how the piano fits the vocals, which vocal mic, how X relates to Y, bla bla bla bla times infinity My point is, don't spend any time deciding on a sample rate as long as you're not lower than 44.1 kHz!!
The one exception I'd say is this: if you think you're going to second-guess yourself all the way if you go for 44.1 kHz, then by all means use a higher sample rate and stop worrying. As long as your computer and interface can keep up with it, of course.
I do not agree that the standard is 96 kHz. I'm sure that some people use it, but I think it's pretty uncommon.
48 kHz IS the standard for television, though.
If I had to guess, I'd say that most professional audio guys use 44.1 kHz. But I don't know. As you can tell, I don't believe there is any sound difference
I would like to have ears to consider the difference 
As far I have heard - use the frequence which is forseen for the master mix, if its not done by yourself.
44.1 and it always gets bounced down to this anyway for commercial CD etc
44.1 kHz all the way
Even if there was a perceptible difference (which there isn't :-D), ....
At the same levels, using the KPA If you're listening on near field mix monitors, there's a difference between 44.1 and 48k. I have SPDIF out at 44.1 , the maximum the KPA allows through SPDIF. and I use it for convenience quick recordings of clips etc. I honestly think it's too bad that the KPA SPDIF is limited to 44.1K when you can clearly hear the improvement using the XLR out into an audio interface set only at 48k. I'm not sure why anyone will want to use 44.1 when they hear the clear difference in the monitors and the improvement in the profiles when you move up to 48k 
The issue is if you're seeking better quality any marginal improvement even from 44 to 48 will be significant improvement for the fact that that this small improvement will be magnified by the number of tracks the project has. The final result will definitely have more discernible depth and air (clearer more pleasant high frequencies and more defined bass) even by moving from 44.1 to 48k. '
This is different than listening to a final single track at 44.1 or 48k and whether some will be able to perceive a difference.
The more tracks the project has, the more the improvement will be noticeable. Any further editing on the tracks will also be magnified either way based on the initial quality due to the multi track factor.
I'm sure 44.1 will give acceptable professional results even in multi track project but the idea that if everything will be mixed down to 44.1 for CD or 48k for dvd so why bother doesn't factor the multi track scenario where a small marginal improvement in one track becomes exponential improvement the more tracks you have.
If the system can handle more than 48k and the project is going to contain more guitar tracks, I believe there would be a clear noticeable improvement the higher you go. If the project contains more software instruments and Synths 48k would make more sense.
Display MoreAt the same levels, using the KPA If you're listening on near field mix monitors, there's a difference between 44.1 and 48k. I have SPDIF out at 44.1 , the maximum the KPA allows through SPDIF. and I use it for convenience quick recordings of clips etc. I honestly think it's too bad that the KPA SPDIF is limited to 44.1K when you can clearly hear the improvement using the XLR out into an audio interface set only at 48k. I'm not sure why anyone will want to use 44.1 when they hear the clear difference in the monitors and the improvement in the profiles when you move up to 48k
The issue is if you're seeking better quality any marginal improvement even from 44 to 48 will be significant improvement for the fact that that this small improvement will be magnified by the number of tracks the project has. The final result will definitely have more discernible depth and air (clearer more pleasant high frequencies and more defined bass) even by moving from 44.1 to 48k. '
This is different than listening to a final single track at 44.1 or 48k and whether some will be able to perceive a difference.
The more tracks the project has, the more the improvement will be noticeable. Any further editing on the tracks will also be magnified either way based on the initial quality due to the multi track factor.
I'm sure 44.1 will give acceptable professional results even in multi track project but the idea that if everything will be mixed down to 44.1 for CD or 48k for dvd so why bother doesn't factor the multi track scenario where a small marginal improvement in one track becomes exponential improvement the more tracks you have.
If the system can handle more than 48k and the project is going to contain more guitar tracks, I believe there would be a clear noticeable improvement the higher you go. If the project contains more software instruments and Synths 48k would make more sense.
What you are hearing is the effect of the analogue stages of the Kemper line output and the audio interface input, both of which are bypassed when going the spdif route.
Display More44.1 kHz all the way
Even if there was a perceptible difference (which there isn't :-D), everything else will have a much bigger impact on the finished product; choice of guitar, profile, pickup height, choice of pick, angle of pick attack, how it is mixed, how well the guitars tone fits the bass tone, how bass tone fits drums, how the piano fits the vocals, which vocal mic, how X relates to Y, bla bla bla bla times infinity
The one exception I'd say is this: if you think you're going to second-guess yourself all the way if you go for 44.1 kHz, then by all means use a higher sample rate and stop worrying. As long as your computer and interface can keep up with it, of course.
I do not agree that the standard is 96 kHz. I'm sure that some people use it, but I think it's pretty uncommon.
48 kHz IS the standard for television, though.
If I had to guess, I'd say that most professional audio guys use 44.1 kHz. But I don't know. As you can tell, I don't believe there is any sound difference
This.
What you are hearing is the effect of the analogue stages of the Kemper line output and the audio interface input, both of which are bypassed when going the spdif route.
Thanks Mike, I would really appreciate clarification on this. this is quote from CK:
"The global sampling rate is 44.1 kHz, while the internal sampling rate is partially much higher. The algorithm for the tube simulation runs on more than 700 kHz sampling rate (!)."
1-Are you saying that by design the KPA global sample rate 44.1KHZ as CK mentioned means that the maximum quality from the Kemper output XLR are also limited to the 44.1KHZ quality and any difference that we can hear is from the KPA DA (digital to analog) converters? If that's the case, I would use the SPDIF for any future projects.
2-Or should what CK stated mean that at the KPA output XLR pickups up the signal after the DA converters translated it from the 700KHZ internal sampling?
What's your understanding is it 1 or 2 ?
Display MoreThanks Mike, I would really appreciate clarification on this. this is quote from CK:
"The global sampling rate is 44.1 kHz, while the internal sampling rate is partially much higher. The algorithm for the tube simulation runs on more than 700 kHz sampling rate (!)."
1-Are you saying that by design the KPA global sample rate 44.1KHZ as CK mentioned means that the maximum quality from the Kemper output XLR are also limited to the 44.1KHZ quality and any difference that we can hear is from the KPA DA (digital to analog) converters? If that's the case, I would use the SPDIF for any future projects.
2-Or should what CK stated mean that at the KPA output XLR pickups up the signal after the DA converters translated it from the 700KHZ internal sampling?
What's your understanding is it 1 or 2 ?
Without knowing the internal workings of the Kemper, I would guess that the 700 kHz is related to CALCULATION (ie - the algorithm part) rather than actual sound. This is after the signal has been converted. I would assume that the AD conversion would happen at a much lower sample rate (say 44.1 kHz), and the algorithm then runs at a much higher rate. I'm on IT guy, so I can't get into specifics or details here, sorry (and they would be further speculation in any case). I don't know much about converters and upsampling, but I don't know if there even ARE any AD converters that could convert analogue to digital audio signal at those kinds of rates. It is possible that the signal is upsampled after conversion in order to reduce artifacts during the internal processing. I'm in way over my head in that area though
The difference you hear would not be from the converters themselves - but rather after the kemper's DA converter you must have some analogue stages before it reaches the line output. Then you go through the XLR cable, and similarly for the preamp, you're hitting some analogue stages before the interface's AD converters. One example would be the steep lo pass filter necessary in any conversion, but that's only part of it I think.
Regarding number 2: yes, I would imagine that the 700 kHz is downsampled before hitting the converters. As I alluded to before, 700 kHz is ridiculously high rate for AD or DA converters. I've never heard of anything above 192 kHz, I think, and that (as I've expressed before) is crazy high as it is
AD/DA conversion is a different beast than a for example a computer's CPU, which works in the gigahertz area.
the SPDIF output and the DA converters which drive the analog outputs use the same digital source signal. if you hear a difference, it has nothing to do with sampling rates.
Edit: posted before I saw response from G String, thanks for Clarifying. I have to say that I like the sound of the converters!
48k, 24bit. Because I'm not just recording simple audio sources but also using synths and effects and I have no control over whether any plugins or even the DAW uses internal supersamoling or algorithmic integral to avoid artifacts. By shifting to 48k I move the frequency of artifacts and their harmonics up by 2-4k which is just enough while not using the disk space and processing power of 96k.
48k, 24bit. Because I'm not just recording simple audio sources but also using synths and effects and I have no control over whether any plugins or even the DAW uses internal supersamoling or algorithmic integral to avoid artifacts. By shifting to 48k I move the frequency of artifacts and their harmonics up by 2-4k which is just enough while not using the disk space and processing power of 96k.
Ah yes, I've heard something about upsampling having an audible effect for certain plugins. I think most plugins do this today, but not all plugins are of course "new"
I have no knowledge of this, but this might be a "valid" reason for recording at higher sample rates (valid in quotes to sound slightly less arrogant ;-)).
It's not something I worry about for the music I make myself. The only virtual instrument I consistently use is BFD for drums, which uses audio source files that are at 44.1 kHz. If I were to use higher sample rates each audio file source (eg. each velocity layer for each drum) would have to be upsamled - I think that would strain my system as it's not blazing fast
One more "valid" reason: If you are going to stretch audio. Say you want to stretch an audio file (or portion) to double length - that would not sound great if it was recorded at 44.1 kHz. Sound designers often use higher sample rates when doing recordings (eg. for sample libraries) for this reason.
44K1
What I put in is what I get out. Perfect.
