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Do HDCDs sound terrible on non HDCD players?

Being an analog guy I have but a small collection of CDs and only a handfull are HDCD encoded. All of them sound terrible on my non HDCD player with thick lower midranges, smeared, closed-in textures and a general lack of cohesiveness. For reference my player is the original Rega Planet and the HDCDs are as follows: Olu Dara, In This World, Steve Earle, El Corazon, Garcia and Grisman, Shady Grove, Neil Young, Silver and Gold. Any opininons?
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Showing 3 responses by sugarbrie

sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
They should play like any regular CD on a non HDCD player. Have you heard them on a HDCD player? They may sound that way in any format. What kind of cables are you using with your Planet?
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Sounds like it is the cables to me. I had similar results with Kimber and Audioquest when I demo's them a while back. Try a pair of Nordost Blue Heaven (used around $100 to $125). Or borrow some if you can. If out of your budget, then the Nordost Solar Wind.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Since you do not have an HDCD decoder, those CDs are just a plain old vanilla CD to your Planet. They should play no different then any other CD. They might just be lousy sounding CDs.


So back to your original question: No, HDCDs do not sound terrible on non HDCD players in my opinion. I have many HDCDs and can attest to it from years of personal experience.

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