Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 24-bit (...) uncompressed audio Do you really need this much headroom, e.g. for producing music professionally? (If so, why are you arguing over the $50-100 extra for a Xeon?) Because for listening, it's proven fact that even professional musicians and mixing engineers using equipment costing >$100k can't tell 24 bit from 16 bit in a proper double-blind A/B test. Presumably you use a high sample rate as well (maybe…
Most people who believe this is a proven fact have never worked in pro audio and know a lot less about it than they assume. While people here like to quote that infamous looks-like-science-but-isn't Xiph video, the reality is that a lot of professional engineers absolutely can hear the difference. If you have good studio monitors and you know what to listen for the difference between a 24-bit master and a downsampled…
I'm all in favor of keeping sample sizes better.. but raising the price for everyone by 10-20%, so that less than 1% can take advantage of it is a bit ridiculous.