Is HDCD dead?

Just rec'd Wayne Wallace's (Trombone-playing/Master arranger/educator/longtime member of West Coast Latin Jazz scene dating back to Azteca and continuing to work with John Santos for decades!)2 latest recordings; 'Devotion' and 'The Reckless Search For Beauty'. Intelligent, smokin', superbly recorded Latin Jazz AND....surprise! Recorded in HDCD!

Modernaire wrote - "As soon as I reached a high enough volume or near full volume, the HDCD mode switched on, indicated on the front panel by a red little light and bam, almost two fold quality, I couldnt believe it!"

Is it possible that what you are hearing is primarily due to the +6dB volume difference that HDCD has over the redbook format?

If you can set up your rig such that you can toggle between the CD layer and HDCD, you might hear that this volume difference is dramatic. It would be interesting to hear from you after you compare the two formats again but this time try and equalize the volume levels.

Enjoy!

my NAD plays hdcd but are there units that can also play the dual layer and sacd formats as well? the dual layer requires 2 lasers i believe and hdcd requires only 1. i want an inexpesive unit that will play all types at full benefit. fwiw, the xrcd24 format is the sweetest thing i have ever heard and plays on any cdp.

I'm the proud owner of an Arcam FMJ CD23T, an HDCD player that continues to be my main CD player BUT....I also own the Oppo DV-981HD. This giant killer plays DVD-Audio, SACD, and HDCD. Has HDMI output for your video plus up to 480P output. The thing is even compatable with Kodak Picture CD. 5.1 Surround and stereo outputs. The sweetest thing about this amazing player is the price which was around $250!! The Oppo DV 970 is an even cheaper model that doesn't have the HDMI (video) capabilities if your only into the audio (although it does play DVD). There's been plenty of press on the Oppo units, almost universally positive and you certainly can't beat the price! Sold direct only thru oppodigital.com.

Chazro,
I used to own the FMJ CD23T. I know its unfair, but can you compare its sonics to the Oppo? I'm thinking about buying an Oppo. Thanks, Jeff