I wouldn't say it's impossible to hear the difference. Much of whatever difference you hear is going to be more realted to the quality of the converter though, and not the actaul sample rate used. First off, you could pic two microphones that have the same response curves, or even two monitors. In the end they will most likely sound different. In the end, I would rather have good 44.1k converters than cheap 96 k ones. However, the way that 96k converters react in the conversion process of lower transients can really affect the over all sound quality of the conversion as a whole. a good 96k converter also is able to translate thos really high frequencies that we can hear with a little more clarity. At 96k, in general, you can typically get a smoother sound in the 14 to 20k ish region since you aren't really making the converter strain itself at the top of it's capacity (or capability). For me though, i would get some decent 44.1k or 48k converters unless it's well within your budget for both converters, processor strength, and hard drive space to accomodate the added weight of 96k conversion.