Sorry Mike, that is not accurate or correct at all. Sampling rate is the number of samples per second (or per other unit) taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz (inverse seconds, 1/s, s−1). The inverse of the sampling frequency is the sampling period or sampling interval, which is the time between samples.
Also if his original session has not data at 96k, going there well not help.
Ponder this, humans can't hear above 22k but science to the rescue with
The Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem states that perfect reconstruction of a signal is possible when the sampling frequency is greater than twice the maximum frequency of the signal being sampled,[2] or equivalently, when the Nyquist frequency (half the sample rate) exceeds the highest frequency of the signal being sampled. If lower sampling rates are used, the original signal's information may not be completely recoverable from the sampled signal.
For example, if a signal has an upper band limit of 100 Hz, a sampling frequency greater than 200 Hz will avoid aliasing and allow theoretically perfect reconstruction.
At any rate 96k ONLY helps the converter be more efficient, because NO HUMAN can hear above 22k, but as you can see we need to sample at DOUBLE what we want to actually reproduce, this is why CD's are 16bit 44.1lk to reproduce 22k, Make sense?
Sampling rate is VERY different from bitrate, Dac try encoding your MP3 at a higher bit rate like 256k this will make things sound much better. This compresses the file less and will leave more high-end in tact. Also try the LAME MP3 encoder.