High resolution digital is dead. The best DAC's killed it.

Media sample rate takes a backseat to recording quality no doubt.

However I am now a convert to upsampling and there is no going back.  I upsample all files to DSD 512 and play back through the T+A DAC8 DSD’s single bit chipless DSD converter.

While there are many “sounds the same” DACs around $2k that are very good, the T+A Dac is more than a couple notches above these.  How much of that is due to the upsampling and more powerful filtering, I don’t know.

I can’t help but think this method is going to gain more and more traction as CPU cycles get cheaper because it’s another significant step up.

my NAD D1050 still sounds awesome

I have the D3020, and it's a pretty sweet and small integrated! I used to use it on my desktop. Certainly better than DAC's and Class D from 20 years ago.

With my Overdrive SX DAC, I can barely tell the difference between 44.1 and 192 tracks.  Sounds better with PCM than players doing DSD/SACD.

The key is eliminating the brick-wall filter for 44.1.  Digital filtering is the #2 problem with digital.  Jitter being #1.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I am a novice at modern day DACs but the ones I have tried as a stand alone DAC using my Marantz CDP as a transport sound a tad too clinical, upfront and not as musical as the internal DAC in my Marantz SA11-S2. I do have on loan a T+A DAC 8 non-DSD so can't wait to hear it later this evening.  

I'm very pleased with Reference Recordings (HDCD) whether on LP or CD.
The Japanese have also contributed to excellent sounding CD's and SACD's. The only question I HAVE is, if you still own some "records",
how much should you spend on a turntable, arm, and cartridge?
I know I'm going to get some negative feedback for this, but I wouldn't
rule out getting the entire set-up in a box from company "X" and just assembling it in an hour, without sweating the alignment procedures, etc. Considering several price points (starting at perhaps $2000) you might get a super-well manufactured 'table that compares to the same level of fidelity as your CD's,
so that one is not a disappointment and the other a revelation. Why I mention this is simply that not every vinyl disc has been released on CD,
and many of them are very special even with a few pops and clicks, etc.
I wanted a Dave Brubeck album (My Favorite Things-a superb record BTW) and had to get a Japanese import (at least "they" had it). A good used record shouldn't cost $150 either, and I wouldn't do that to someone. But I'm more nostalgic for vinyl that I grew with than a mono-Beatles' set although both are great depending on your inclinations.
I mainly listen to my CD collection, but I also used to love shopping for records. For the $5 you could get "the good stuff"- great sound, clean pressings, good packaging, etc. I don't see a lot of those records on CD.
Like 8K television, we're moving forward into "the outer limits" but we're losing sight of where we've been. My stereo gave me goosebumps 30 years ago.  Just saying....