The per-channel sample_rate field was inert after pinning the codec to 48 kHz. Make it meaningful without changing the 48 kHz clock: carry it as OpusParams::max_bandwidth_hz and apply OPUS_SET_MAX_BANDWIDTH in OpusEncoder::init (8000->narrowband, 16000->wideband, 24000->super-wideband, 48000->full). A low-bitrate room can now shed out-of-band content while every endpoint keeps a single 48 kHz clock. Make sample_rate channel-authoritative on the server: conn_session no longer overrides effective sample_rate with the client's always-48000 request (it now behaves like frame_ms/mode). vc_get_stream_audio_config reports the channel's configured rate for own streams too. New ctest channel_samplerate: a 7 kHz tone is attenuated ~1000x on an 8 kHz (narrowband) channel vs a 48 kHz (full-band) channel, proving the cap is in effect. ctest --preset dev 26/26. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>