I've decided not to run my masterings through an HDCD converter..

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Apr 3, 2011.

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  1. Mal

    Mal Phorum Physicist

    That's a relief - I was worried I might have been tempting someone over to the dark side...

    :)
     
  2. Brian Vollrath

    Brian Vollrath Forum Resident

    Location:
    Corcoran, MN
    Exactly!! What does Microsoft know about Hi-Fi? They can barely build a good operating system. :)
     
    Galley likes this.
  3. rstamberg

    rstamberg Senior Member

    Location:
    Riverside, CT
    I used to think I enjoyed HDCD on some great-sounding discs I own, but after browsing this thread I've come to realize I have no business discussing the subject. I'm way out of my league. I don't even understand some of the terms being bandied about here.
     
    Dr. Mudd likes this.
  4. Zafu

    Zafu Cosmic Muffin

    Steve,

    I realize this is a somewhat dated post and wondering a few things. First, if your opinion on HDCD has changed at all and second; if you know or can possibly contact Jeffrey Norman. He is also a sound engineer and responsible for most of the mastering & mixing of the huge volume of Grateful Dead live recordings, all done in HDCD. Many of those releases sound fantastic, however I have no idea how they may have sounded if HDCD was not used in the first place. My apologies if this suggestion/request is a bit self-serving but also think it could be a great professional exchange of info. if you two connected.

    Thank you.

    Zafu
     
  5. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    My original thoughts haven't changed, sorry.
     
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  6. bgiliberti

    bgiliberti Will You Be My Neighbor?

    Location:
    USA
    Rather a moot point, as the HDCD format is pretty much a relic. Just to be clear, I don't question our host's conclusion in the least. That said, I had the same experience as "Zafu," in that I think my HDCD discs (my cd player has a decoder) have better depth and dimension than most standard redbooks I own, and are more natural sounding. The effect is often quite striking. I wish they had put a "defeat" switch on the players, so people could hear the difference and decide for themselves.
     
    Blue Cactus and DHamilton like this.
  7. Stone Turntable

    Stone Turntable Independent Head

    Location:
    New Mexico USA
    But a living relic! HDCD is pretty much exclusively about being a crazed Dead Head at this point — I bought an HDCD-capable CD player just to play Grateful Dead discs — along with a smattering of older Neil Young releases plus a few other artists.

    It’s nice to get a slightly higher-rez (than Red Book) playback on the pretty great-sounding Dead catalog and numerous official live box sets and Dick’s Picks, etc. But the format itself is heading for the big sleep on Boot Hill.
     
  8. Kubricker

    Kubricker Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Are they even still using it on the Neil Young CDs? IF he ever gets around to releasing the next batch in the Official/Original Release series tied to the Archives. But being seven years since those came out its looking unlikely.
     
  9. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    Any chance of non-HDCD remasters from Audio Fidelity?
     
  10. Platterpus

    Platterpus Senior Member

    I have some CDs that are HDCD encoded but I have never had a CD player that decodes them. Too bad nothing came out to the consumer market such as an external HDCD decoder that could be hooked up along the path between ones standard CD player to the receiver/amp.
     
  11. captwillard

    captwillard Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville
    I don't think it is possible. You'd have to have a HDCD capable DAC unit.
     
  12. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Reopened by request.
     
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  13. therockman

    therockman Senior Member In Memoriam

    My new Oppo 205 does not play HDCD so I first convert these discs to 24 bit files and play them via a USB stick on my Oppo. I still love these old Audio Fidelity discs.
     
  14. rxcory

    rxcory proud jazz band/marching band parent

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Bumping this for a friend.... :wave:
     
  15. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host Thread Starter

    Ah, memories.
     
    rxcory likes this.
  16. George P

    George P Notable Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Can I ask, @Steve Hoffman , if you have compared any of your HDCD CDs - with the HDCD decoding - and without? And if so, could you tell us about the differences you heard?
     
  17. audiomixer

    audiomixer As Bald As The Beatles

    Not now.
     
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  18. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    So, who owns the remastered work now? Did Marshall close out the company and stuff 'em in his vault, or did they revert physical ownership to the parent label?
     
  19. Lemon Curry

    Lemon Curry (A) Face In The Crowd

    Location:
    Mahwah, NJ
    Steve,
    Are your concerns about SQ when HDCD encoding is played on a non-HDCD player? Or when you are using an HDCD player? Or both?

    What I've independently read is that distortion is audible when playing on a non-HDCD deck, but that HDCD compatible deck playback is ok.
     
    George P likes this.
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