Sample Rate

Snapshots per second of the waveform — 44.1/48kHz covers audible reality.

Sample rate sets the highest frequency a digital system captures: half the rate, so 48kHz covers to 24kHz — past human hearing. Record at 44.1 or 48kHz; higher rates buy lower converter latency and headroom for extreme pitch-shifting, at double the file size and CPU. They do not make audible frequencies sound better.