They are wrong. Continuum was tracked to analog tape in many instances (Mayer is a known tape enthusiast). The 24-96 FLAC captures the analog saturation. Furthermore, pop music benefits most from high resolution because of the density of information. A modern pop track has 80+ tracks of audio. In 16-bit, that density collapses into a wall of sound. In 24-bit, each instrument retains its digital "breathing room."
He hadn't just downloaded an album. He had broken into the master tapes. He was sitting in the control room at Avatar Studios in 2006, smelling the coffee and the tube amps. John Mayer - Continuum -2006 Pop- -Flac 24-96-
Continuum was the studio realization of that ambition. Once again, he enlisted Steve Jordan as a co-producer and collaborator, and the album was recorded at premier studios including The Village Recorder in Los Angeles, Avatar Studios in New York, and the legendary Royal Studios in Memphis. They are wrong