The way I remember it, when CD was developed, the directive was for it to be able to fit a whole symphony on one CD. It might have been even spec'd on Beethoven's Ninth. So they essentially worked backwards on sampling rate to figure out what was the highest rate they could use in order to still be able to fit the music on one disc.
If that directive wasn't there, they could have for example doubled the sampling rate with two CD's required for the same amount of music.
Way back in the early 80's, that was the story that was being told and there was a lot of screaming about how the 44.1khz rate was a big compromise.
If that directive wasn't there, they could have for example doubled the sampling rate with two CD's required for the same amount of music.
Way back in the early 80's, that was the story that was being told and there was a lot of screaming about how the 44.1khz rate was a big compromise.