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Cheap 24 bit or nicer 20 bit?

I have been thinking about this, and wanted some opinions. I am not interested in tech specs nearly as much as sound quality when it comes to my digital recording. So I was wondering, if I am using a fairly cheap 24 bit card (M-Audio Delta card) and compared it to say a Lucid ADA1000, which will only do 20 bits, what will I hear?

PT MIX X PT HD @ 44.1k/24bits

Hi friends!
Seems this is my first post on this forum page..

I use PT Mix 5.1.1 with 2 ADAT bridges light piped to an 02R, mostly at 44.1k/24 bits. I know this is weird and hard to quantize, but assuming two different situations that I present below.. what are the advantages in each case, in terms of percentage:

a) PT MIX x PT HD both at 44.1k/24 bits

02R 24 bit ADAT cards?

I am an 02R owner and am considering going to a 24 bit HD recorder using ADAT light pipe. However, the Yamaha ADAT card uses a proprietary Alesis optical chip that will only pass a 20 bit word length. Other than the expensive TC Electronic 02R Unit Y card (for which you're mostly paying for the plugin processors), are there any reliable 3rd party 24 bit ADAT cards out there?

Anyone using a Joemeek VCQ-1cs w/VC1QD 24bit card?

I have been searching for a "nicer" Mic Pre and compressor to use as a front end to the Digi 001. I would like to have a discrete solid state mic preamp with very little coloration to be used on a variety of source material. I have been very impressed by the FMR Audio RNC compressor and have heard a Mic Pre is in the works but I have no idea when that might be available.

24 bit 96khz vs 24 bit 48 khz (final round)

I have heard a lot of guys say the music being recorded today punk, rap, pop etc will not take advantage of 96 kHz sample rate.
I tried a few projects at 96k and things sounded better to me
but my machine was overloading.

Makes me want to build a super computer!

What do you guys think, is 96 khz worth it?