> The higher the sampling rate, the higher the quality, but it can never be the same as the original.
Not strictly true. According to the sampling theorem, in an ideal A/D D/A system, the original signal WILL be reconstructed perfectly, up to the Nyquist point ( half the sampling rate ).
In the real world, the truth of this statement is limited by factors like the quality of the components used for digitisation & reconstruction, and in particular the filters used. This is why a capture card costing thousands will give better results than a cheaper one.
So it's never exactly the same, but it can get pretty damn close...