What format are most people using, and why?

I don't understand why you feel 24/96 wave files are the best. Assuming you are ripping CDs, the data must be converted from it's native 16 bit to 24 bit. Wouldn't it be better to save bit perfect 16 bit copies than somehow converting it? If you feel that adding more bits somehow makes things sound better (I don't) then wouldn't it be better to store a perfect copy of the original and up convert on playback? Sooner or later an up-converter you like better will come along and you will be stuck with whatever your old converter produced.

I only use 24/96 when burning my vinyl onto the hard drive. Most of my cd's are burned at 16/44 and I don't like the effects of the up converters I have tried.

That makes good sense. I must have been asleep as I missed the part in your post about analog. What are using to convert your vinyl to digital?

I have a Lynx 2 card in my computer. I also use the Manley Slam (a professional a to d, d to a dac) when I can borrow it. For computer out I go Adobe Audition to the Empirical Off ramp turbo to the Audiomeca Enkianthus X2 ( TRL modified)Dac.

Harry, I have been busy putting my CDs on hard drive and up to this point have not really considered putting any vinyl there. I figured my records would sound better played as is without converting it to digital. Other than being more convenient when stored to your hard drive do you see other benefits?

I looked at that Adobe program. Looks very powerful. It looks like it will do 32/196. Have you tried that? Seems like it would take a lot of space.

Do you use it to correct defects such as pops and ticks on from the vinyl? Is it effective?

Can it manage your library like iTunes or do you use it just to playback through it?

How much hard drive space does a file take at 24/96? I think a 16/44 file is about 10 Mbytes a minute.

Thanks