That would be true in the context of traditional analog design, not so much in view of the common usage of digital filters.john12ax7 said:From a technical perspective there are good reasons to go above 44.1k. It's not necessarily about capturing above 20k, but rather increasing the performance below 20k. The 10% margin, while once maybe being necessary, is in general poor engineering practice. 2-5x bandwidth would be more reasonable.
I agree, though, that the transient response of sharp cut-off filters is a serious issue.
I would think that the choice of 44.1 k results from a mythical 20kHz auditory limit; if a more reasonable choice of 16kHz BW whilst retaining 44k S, we may not have the same discussion. After all, I don't think any body seriously criticized 15k BW in broadcast.