Sample rate calculator

Uncompressed bitrate is sample rate × bit depth × channels. At 48 kHz, 24-bit stereo that is 2,304 kbps. The Nyquist theorem means a sample rate captures frequencies up to half of itself — 48 kHz reaches 24 kHz.

Nyquist sets the ceiling but not the practical one. A real converter needs an anti-aliasing filter below half the sample rate, and that filter cannot be infinitely steep, so 44.1 kHz gives clean response to about 20 kHz rather than a hard 22.05. That margin is exactly why 44.1 was chosen rather than 40: it leaves room for a filter that does not audibly affect the top of the hearing range. Choosing 48 kHz for video work is a separate convention entirely, driven by its clean relationship with frame rates.