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HDCD fans out there?

I've been reading all the discussions about SACD vs CD vs all other digital forms and it is interesting. I do see a few who mention HDCD, which I really enjoy. For the most part, I find them to be closest to vinyl, at least in my system. They are a fairly recent discovery for me but I do enjoy them. I've purchased some old Denon players and a Cambridge Audio unit to be able to read them properly. I think the Denons do the best job among the compatible units that I have. Maybe the difference between Burr Brown 24 bit and Cirrus Logic 24 bit. I know there is more to it than that but that's the simple thought process of it. 

Not all HDCD's are created equal and some are better than others. The same is true of redbook CD, with some of them seeming to be much better than others. I don't know why exactly, other than maybe a better system making the master or a better engineer etc. I just listen and evaluate for myself. I have found some HDCD's that are not labeled as such. Decca label, I think. Any idea why that would be? I also have one or two redbook Cd's that have at least one track of HDCD on them. You'd never know it if you didn't have HDCD capable pleyer. It is a very noticeable difference when you get to it. Just kind of odd and interesting. Anyone else a fan of this obscure format? I enjoy them a lot. 

billpete
jafant's avatar
jafant
21,712 posts
 

billpete

What gear and cabling is in your System?

 

Happy Listening!

billpete OP
396 posts
 

Denon and Cambridge DVD players, using the internal DACS. All are 24 bit, some are 96k, some are 192k. My cabling is Belden solid core OFC with Neutrik RCA's. Speaker wire is Blue Jean Canare 4G, I think that is what is was called. 

Preamp is Cary SLP 98P, F1 edition upgraded with Lundahl SUT for LOMC. I use mostly vintage tubes VT231, switching off from RCA smoke glass, KenRad  black glass and Sylvania VT231, I think same as what gets called bad boys. Currently running that pair in gain stage with more modern EH gold pins in buffer stage. I know a lot of people have different names for these positions but this is how I know them. 

I horizontally biamp original Teledyne AR9 speakers with two Parasound HCA 2200 II amps. The speakers have not seen any repair in 25 years and are still "mostly" very damn good. I do wonder at times if it is getting time to do something such as recap the crossovers, just don't know. I often think that it all sounds perfect.......so who knows. 

My current turntable in use is Linn LP12, with Ekos arm and still breaking in AT33 LOMC cartridge. I have quite a few other TT's and cartridges but I think you are more asking about my digital set up.  

milpai's avatar
milpai
2,683 posts
 

I love to listen to Joni Mitchell, Niel Young , etc and have a few HDCDs. Only recently did i realize that they were not properly ripped in my library. Do took the efforts and took the right approach to decode and save as FLAC files. It is amazing how dynamic they sound. Wish we had more HDCDs. But a moron at Microsoft probably killed the format because they had cloth ears.

motown-l
369 posts
 

I was gifted an early 2000's Rotel CD player that has HDCD capability. I have some Joni Mitchell and Beck CD's in that format. I have to SACD's to compare them to, but next to standard 16/44 CD's, they are more revealing.

mahler123
4,127 posts
 

I have a few HDCDs.  I don’t find them close to vinyl.  My HDCDs do not have pops , clicks, or skips.  They all play longer than 20 minutes.  They have a much wider dynamic range than vinyl.

 

  Perhaps the OP should be seeking a refund.

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