[davidmiya]

I just bought a whole boatload of Reference Recording CDs, some of which are recorded in HDCD. It says that the HDCD recordings are 24-bit. Since my player also plays 24-bits, does it play at the HDCD quality level? Is it only playing the CD layer? I'm so confused!!!

 

[Megaptera]

HDCD isn't a seperate layer on the disc, like a SACD/Redbook hybrid. It's basically a way of encoding a little more information onto the disc -- it's not literally a 24-bit disc, even though the quality is a step above a standard Redbook CD (actually, I think it bumps it up to 20-bit, but I don't remember off the top of my head). A player that can decode HDCDs will specifically tell you that it can do that in the user manual, and usually have an indicator on its display to tell you when it's playing one.

I don't believe the Meridian 588 has an HDCD decoder in it. But the nice thing about HDCD is that it can be played in any CD player -- they just get better in an HDCD-compatible one -- and since HDCD is mostly used by people who really care about sound quality, many HDCDs just sound better anyway.

 

[Xeno7651]

The Meridian 588 does not play HDCDs. HDCD compatible cd players will state specifically in the manual or you will see the HDCD label on the player itself. Your Meridian reads redbook cd at 16 bit and bumped it up (through processing) to 24 bit, while HDCDs are already 24 bits to start with, therefore sounding a little bit better.

 

[Yikes]

ALL CD PLAYERS WILL PLAY HDCD ENCODED CD'S.

All players will not play them with the HDCD decoding algorithm. HDCD is an encode/decode (primarily encode) system that theoretically increases a recordings dynamic range. In order to decode these discs in HDCD the player must have a Digital Filter that incorporates the HDCD algorithm. Pacific Microsonics marketed HDCD, and for the first several years’ digital filters built by Pacific Microsonics were the only models available (PMD-100, PMD-200). Then Pacific Microsonics licensed the technology to SANYO. The Sanyo chip sounded like crap, whereas the PMD-100 and PMD-200 were great sounding digital filters.

In my experience the players built with the PMD-100 and PMD-200 sounded great. That being said once you get into players like the 588 the digital filtering used surpasses the performance of the PMD filters. An example is my Cary 303-200 has both the PMD 200 and an excellent over-sampling digital filter. On most discs (Including many HDCD discs) the player sounds better bypassing the HDCD filter.

The Reference Recordings discs tend to have excellent sonics. With a player as good as the 588 you should not concern yourself about whether or not your player is “HDCD”

Enjoy!

 

[jmzzz01]

So is it a function of the player or the DAC?

For example:

Neither of my disc players are capable of playing in HDCD format per se, however, my HT receiver does handle HDCD and displays the HDCD logo on the front. Can I use the TOSLINK to send the digital signal to the receiver for decoding there, or does the player also have to be able to "deal with" HDCD?

 

[Yikes]

It is strictly a function of the digital filter. The digital filter is part of the DAC.

 

[Yikes]

There are issues with using many HT receivers with high performance players. Many HT receivers digitize all analog inputs. So the chain of conversion goes like this:

Player (Transport-D/A converter) - Analog output to Receiver (A to D for processing and bass management and so on) then to the Receivers D/A converter. So the signal is going thru two extra conversion stages.

If you have a high performance player and want to use a HT Receiver you should make sure that the receiver has an "Analog Bypass feature" Then when you want to listen to the high performance analog output from the player you would select the Analog Bypass Input.

When I had a High End HT Processor and a High End Player I used two different outputs from the player. For high quality analog I used the Bypass feature, then for movie DD and DTS soundtracks I used the SPDIF/coax digital output (TOS Sucks!).

 

[Mikey01]

What are "reference recordings" and where can I buy them? A couple of examples please. Thanks

 

[Yikes]

Reference Recordings

http://www.referencerecordings.com/

 

[davidmiya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikey01 What are "reference recordings" and where can I buy them? A couple of examples please. Thanks

Not all the recordings mastered by Reference Recordings are by great musicians/orchestras/bands. For examples, the Minnesota Symphony is no Chicago Symphony or New York Phil. However, one thing is guaranteed: If you have a great player, these recordings will transport you TO the music.