> The highest I've used is 32-bit, it sounded perfect. A couple of years ago one of my > professors told me equipment existed for 64 and 128, I assumed by now it was being > used regularly in high end studios. I used to record at 24-bit 11 years ago in my > bedroom. It's good but I don't see the point in using another format that we'd kick > ourselves for using in a few decades again (24), like what we did with the cd. I > admit 32-bit is fantastic but I don't see the point in not using the best available > if people might call us idiots for passing on it a hundred years from now.
The thing is that 24-bit audio has a theoretical dynamic range of 144dB, which exceeds the capabilities of the best A/D converters currently available and pushes the limits of human hearing. Recording at higher bit depths, you are literally not capturing any additional information.
> For sure > they will think we were crazy for thinking 16 bit/128 mp3 is good enough.
I'm not sure anyone really thinks 128kbps MP3 sounds good, as such. It's just a matter of portability and convenience being more important than quality.