how would a faster sample rate then allow for higher frequencies to be captured? wouldn't that be more the domain of increased bit depth and the larger dynamic range it provides?
or is it because you're taking more samples per second that the possibilities exist for capturing fleeting high frequencies?
Ever seen a video of a forward moving car with the wheels spinning backwards?
Think of it this way. You have a nice clean 48 kHz sinusoidal coming towards you with tops and crests. Like waves in the ocean.
And you have a 48 kHz sampler. The sampler takes snapshots (16 or 24 bit) of the wave and hits say the top every time.
The sampler sees no wave. It outputs DC!
To see the 48 kHz you have to sample fast enough to see the crest in between. If you increase the rate to 49 kHz you see a slowly varying wave. At 95 kHz you see a fast varying wave. And finally, at 96 kHz (and over), you see the full 48 kHz.