Will I really hear a difference at 24Bit?

[Dal Hic]

A friend of mine has suggested that I upgrade my studio to 24 Bit, but I really want some honest opinions as to whether I will hear a noticeable improvement. Firstly, I would like to point out that I mainly make dance music that is released on vinyl and CD. I plan to record a lot more live vocals and the occasional acoustic instrument, but the majority of my sound sources come from Sample CD's, my existing sample library, and my synths and sound modules.

My current set-up is as follows:
Apple G4 with d24 card (I only record at 16Bit, but got the d24 card due to the extra track count it gives me).
2 x DSP Farms
16 Bit ADAT Bridge which links via ADAT outputs to Yamaha 02R (for my TDM tracks).
Sonorus Studi/o card which links via ADAT outputs to Korg 168RC (for Logic's internal instruments and tracks that use VST plug-ins).
Logic Audio Platinum 5.5
Avalon VT737SP Mic Pre
Avalon VT747SP EQ & Compressor
Panasonic SV3800 DAT
Akai S6000 Sampler
Various Synths and Modules

I have also recently decided to buy an Apogee Rosetta so that the outputs of my Avalons can go into the Rosetta and use its A/D Converters instead of the 02R's internal ones which I currently use. I'm also hoping that I can use the Rosetta's Wordclock as the master and output via BNC to my 02R, and use the Rosetta's AES/EBU output to go to my ADAT Bridge. I understand that the Rosetta is 24 Bit, and I know that I would need to upgrade my ADAT Bridge to the 24 Bit version, but is that all I would need to do to have a full 24 Bit system?

So then I would work as follows:
Record all sound sources through Avalon's, into Rosetta at 24 Bit, come out digitally via AES/EBU into 24 Bit ADAT Bridge and record as audio files into Logic at 24 Bit. Then the audio tracks are sent out of Bridge into 02R at 24 Bit, and then I could come out of the 02R's Master Stereo Out (which is actually only 20 Bit), and then go into the VT747SP for a touch of mastering and then into the Rosetta and use the 16 Bit UV22 switch before going into my Panasonic SV3700 DAT Machine via S/PDIF.
Does this sound correct?

Also, one thing I wanted to know is this: As I am mainly working with Samples (which are 16 Bit) from my Akai S6000 and sounds from my Synths and Modules, will these sounds not benefit from a 24 Bit system even though I am processing them through my Avalons which will add some more sparkle to them?
Will a 24 Bit system only really improve my live recordings such as vocals and instruments as these are analog in origin?
Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks.

[Dopamine]

You may want to seriously consider ditching your 6000 and going for a Z8.

[Dr. J]

Yes, you will notice a difference. Apogee is a great choice bty.

[RobMacki]

I have similar set up.
I started w/ 882
I found a big difference w/ 882|20
And bigger difference w/ 888|24
IMHO the interface makes as big a difference as the bit depth.

[Ray Lyon]

Hi... for your application (dance music) the difference would be slight... if you're happy with your mixes than stick with what you've got... 24 bit is necessary for music with alot of space, solo gtr, piano/vox, classical, etc... hard rock, thrash, and certain kinds of contempo music, esp when its played back (in final form) on inferior or hyped speakers (as in a club) 24 bit will make little difference... IMHO... many fine recordings were made with 16 bit ADAT's! Don't let the marketers fool you, use yer ears!

[Studioduck]

If you REALLY want to undertand what bit depth does with your music, talk to Nika at the recpit.prosoundweb.com

He knows it ALL!