the 96 on mp3's is kps(or something like that)and has to do with encoding quality, different from the 44,48, and 96 hz you see on soundcards...im pretty new to this myself, and trying to answer your questions about hearing the difference would open up a can of worms....myself, I cant hear the difference...do a search of the BBS and you can hear arguments of the pros/cons...i do know this, if you record at 24 bit/ 96hz, you are talking about eating up some serious storage space....If you are leaning toward the Delta Dio, I would say the 2448 would be my decision...almost bought one myself until the Audiophile came out...it was $60 more, but I need quality converters because SBlaster type cards just dont cut it in that area....