Streaming resolution

OP, in my view, resolution preference is real, but what's actually driving your experience deserves scrutiny. There's a good video on this which essentially argues:

Higher sample rates expose weaknesses in a DAC's implementation and analog output stage — what sounds "sterile" at 96/192 may reflect one's chain's vulnerabilities, not resolution itself. 

More fundamentally, the mastering matters far more than the format. A brilliantly engineered 16/44.1 recording routinely outperforms a poorly mastered high-res file. 

Also worth noting: most modern delta-sigma DACs internally upsample PCM anyway, which means the format battle is often already decided inside the DAC itself. 

Video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WSxrtGOk48&t=489s

Overall, your sweet spot at 48kHz may simply be where your system is most forgiving — not where resolution peaks.

+1 @hilde45 

I think the quality of the recording and mastering is much more important than resolution, at least once you get to Red Book. I've heard a lot of Red Book quality streams that sound better than "hi-rez." I can maybe buy that up to a point-maybe 24-96, there is something to be gained, but I think there is a lot of marketing around hi-rez for gains that are well beyond human hearing.

@willywonka Not that I like rap, but I do think that many systems are tailored for certain types of music.  For example, a system that hits a home run on electronic or club music may not sound as good for soft female vocals, and vice-versa.  I had a pair of Sonus Faber bookshelves some time ago, and they were amazing for natural  instruments and vocals, but not so much for rock music.  

I have gone through quite a few DACs and several streaming setups.  My observation is that this is pretty equipment-dependent.  On my current setup, there seems to be no inherent advantage to higher bitrates.  If I can ascertain the native format of a recording, that seems to sound best, by a gnat's hair.  In prior configurations, higher resolutions were critical to the extent they were almost as important as the mastering quality.

Incidentally, if you look at my system for context, it's out of date.  I can't figure out how to edit it and am here infrequently enough not to research that.