Yes but digital recorders record down to DC so that isn't at issue, it is the >22.05kHz frequencies I see no point in recording even when they exist.
Even if I don't see the need for that, if you that you may not hear but feel what is between 20 and 30Hz, you may think that you can feel the above of 22kHz. It will certainly not be a fundamental but harmonics, but it's possible you can feel it with your teeth, I don't know. But again, even if that was the case, I don't think it's necessary and I don't think it was the argument from people asking for masters. It's just that they asked for master and it created a market, but more to get the same thing than what was done in the studio.
The question is not if you could, but if you should! You clearly missed the last line of my post post.
In some cases it was needed, not because you want to record/listen above 22kHz, but because you can have a plugin or a device that works best at this rate, and just this thing that created the fact of using 88.2... when you have a plugin that works with it's own oversampling, it should work great without the need to record at 88.2. That's why I said it sometimes used not because you want your final master with this rate, but because creating was simpler with this rate. There are been several reasons.
Where are the tracks with an amplitude of 80 dB?
Who are able to hear at - 80 or - 60 dB?
Who have a room with a NR of 15 dB?
Where are the speakers able to reproduce a dynamic of 60 dB?
Where are the domestic room can support a dynamic of 30 dB?
24bit for what? Demonstrate the existence of the multiverse
A record is made to be listen every where.
I would say none of the reasons you gave, because they are at the listening step only.
The listening market has asked for getting, or listen to the marketing argument of providing, files coming from the studio, and these are 24bit for so much reasons other than the examples you gave, even if they are right.
And these other reasons are linked to : digital recording and mixing.
A snare drum can goes up to 120dB, cymbals more than that, nobody will take the risk of loosing time or use a mic placement to get less level at the cost of having a sound that is as good. Even if it will not reach it, you never record near the highest level accepted, you always keep security, so you don't have 96dB to work in 16bit.
You only use two mics away for your drums ? Easy to reach 105 dB around a drum kit.
These levels will be reduced in your mix, but you can take the risk to clip or having no headroom on any track while recording.
If you have a lot of tracks, there will a sum of their noise floor, with 24bit, you takes less risk that the sum comes up to a level it can be heard.
A guitar amp may sound different with higher volume than a low volume, and even if you will lower that once in the mix, the source while recording can be at more than 96dB to hit that right sound you want.
If you have a configuration where all sources are lower than 96dB (and far lower as you keep room and don't record near OdB), you could record each one with 16bit, but once you import it in your mixing session, you have to do it at 24bit or 32bit floating point. All processing will be better, you can avoid the possibility of digital clipping,...
Digital mixing and processing are certainly the main reason masters ended up being at 24bit more than anything else.
Masters were converted at 16bit in the CD area, but it changed after that, because of the market asking for studio files and/or the idea to re-sell some albums that were only on CD at 16bit before. Add that they got less money since CD have been shared via mp3 20 years ago, then streaming which doesn't bring you money that what CD did... Even with general increase of life cost, and so travel, hotel... the loss on CD sells is also a reason why concert tickets cost have increased.
Saying these ones are 24bit gives less doubt that it's the real file created by the artist team, but in most cases, it's not the artist that will decide which version will be delivered to providers because the master is the proprietary of the label, unless artist has it's own label.
In the end, studios need 24bit for several reasons (and other that I did not talk about), and the demand for studio files leads to 24bit files for listening.
And we are talking about 24bit, but we should not forget that most ADC or DAC will only gives you 21bit out of 24 in real use, maybe 22bit if put in a freezer
