[linux-audio-user] 44.1, 48 or 96?

Hello all, I am looking for some engineering know-how and advice. Should I track at 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz or 96 kHz? I record vocals and acoustic guitar for the most part. I have been routinely recording at 24 bits, 96 kHz simply because I can and I assume that this gets me the highest fidelity from my recordings (tracking through AKG Solidtube or a pair of Oktava condensers and a Pendulum Audio SPS-1 preamp to Delta 1010LT into Jack/Ardour). After a discussion with a friend, I´m not so sure anymore. He is recording his album at 44.1 kHz, arguing that this will avoid downsampling when finally pressing a CD. So, are there any opinions about this? There is a very practical issue here. I am contemplating the addition of an outboard digital effects processor to take some load off my CPU. Most units (less than $1000) with s/pdif are 44.1 and 48 kHz, so they would not work (I don´t think) with digital audio recorded at 96 kHz. Thanks for all the help you've given me in the past. I hope I am not coming to the well too many times!! -Joe Dell'Orfano -- Joseph Dell'Orfano <fullgo(a)dellorfano.net>