Hi Simeon
your ears live in the analog world. So an audio signal is always and only perceived in anaog domain. The real answer is that very signal quality translation in the analog realm depends on the D/A converters used in the conversion process. Obviously, bit rate and sampling frequency will make the conversion more accurate.
Say this signal is originally created at 24 bit/48Khz. I would keep these values as they are…no need to change them as uincreasing the values you are not adding anything and decreasing you are making it worse…..unless it's an analog source that you are converting…so the max. values your system can handle…the better the quality.
BUT….in the end… if you have a D/A converter of higher quality than Eclipses one, you'll hear a better version of it.
Once, in a pro studio, I was blown away by hearing Orville reverbs at 24/96, using Prism Sound converters…another world…stellar! Obviously the cost of the converter was exactly the same as Orville's price tag.
I
