Martin,
Each bit of 'bit depth', i.e., 16 bit or 24 bit, gives you 6dB of 'headroom', or Dynamic Range. This is the amount of space between what the system can record at the bottom end of the spectrum, i.e., silence, and the loudest it can go. A bit depth of 16 bit will give you 96dB of dynamic range, which is a lot. However, 24 bit will give you a range of 144dB. Imagine a silent rustle of the conductor breathing before the concert to the loudest crescendo of the orchestra, and that's your dynamic range. If it's more than 96dB, you need to go to 24 bit.

Now, 144dB is very loud, it's actually past the painful threshold. On the other hand, 0dB is almost impossible to achieve, except in a vacuum, which isn't very conducive to recording.

For most home studio setups, 44.1kHz and 16 bit is adequate. If you have top of the line gear, use a sampling rate of 88.2 and 24 bits. Then, at some point, you'll need to convert it to 16 bit 44.1kHz for CD burning purposes.

Gary

I'm blessed watching God do what He does best. I've had a few rough years, and I'm still not back to where I want to be, but I'm on the way and things are looking far better now than what they were!