HDCD Surprises

[anamorphic96]

Not to long ago I upgraded to the NAD C542 and have been shocked at the number of HDCD discs I have. Most are not even labeled. Of the 300 discs I own I would say at least 50 to 60 are HDCD's. The other week I bought 8 new titles and 4 where HDCD and not labeled.

It does not always make that big of a difference and sometimes makes some discs sound worse. But I have quite a few where it made very noticeable improvements.

Anyone else have HDCD capabilities and notice this pattern.

Cheers

[Feanor]

Not to long ago I upgraded to the NAD C542 and have been shocked at the number of HDCD discs I have. Most are not even labeled. Of the 300 discs I own I would say at least 50 to 60 are HDCD's. The other week I bought 8 new titles and 4 where HDCD and not labeled.

It does not always make that big of a difference and sometimes makes some discs sound worse. But I have quite a few where it made very noticeable improvements.

Anyone else have HDCD capabilities and notice this pattern.

Cheers

That's very interesting indeed. In which labels are the HDCDs turning up? Is there a pattern, e.g. performers, producers, engineers?

To my knowledge I have only 3-4 HDCDs. But I haven't been staring at my HDCD indicator, so I might have a few more. Mine are all Reference Recordings; they sound great even without HDCD decoding, but the decoding improves the sound subtly I would say

[anamorphic96]

I listen to quite a bit of alternative country and traditional country. In fact I just put in a disc by Freakwater that I picked up last night and it's HDCD encoded. Two of my Lucinda Williams discs along with two of my Emmylou Harris albums are HDCD. I have a couple of Laura Cantrell discs that are encoded. Most of the discs are on smaller labels. Rounder, Bloodshot, Thrill Jockey, American. Plus some majors.

Tool
Other Ones
Natalie Merchant
Mark Knopfler
Dire Straits
Willie Nelson
Caitlin Cary
Beck

This is a small list that have encoded discs, there are others.

My Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball album is horrible sounding. Very harsh sounding and compressed. Sounds better without the HDCD encoding.

[R.S.]

Here are a few of the ones that I have that are not marked on the packaging:

Duke Ellington- Blues in Orbit (unbelievable sound!)
Stephen Stills- (Self Titled)
Stephen Stills- Manassas
ZZ Topp- Rancho Texicano (2 CD Best of)
The Doors- Legacy
Yes- Live From the House of Blues

[emorphien]

I've stumbled across a few which are HDCD, but not many. And certainly not as high a percentage as you have. It is always fun to pop in a disc and have that light come on when you're not expecting it though.

[Bingo]

My Cary CD player decodes HDCD discs....I have three or four of them on the Reference Label. I have not noticed any CDs other than the ones I selected that light up the red light on my CD player, but you can bet I'll be looking there in the future just to see if any unlabled ones are HDs....HA! As old as I am, I learn something new EVERY day!
Bingo alias Nolan

[PeruvianSkies]

There are a few other older threads on here about this same topic. We (if I recall) listed quite a few of the non-labeled HDCD's out there as well as some of the ones that were really key titles to have. There are a few websites or non-AR threads out there that list several as well. My favorite HDCD's are the following:

Jewel: SPIRIT
Sigur Ros: ()
Starship Troopers Soundtrack
Kenny Wayne Shephard: LIVE ON
Better Than Ezra CLOSER
The Cars: Self Titled
Neil Young's GREATEST HITS
The Flaming Lips: The Soft Bulletin
High Fidelity Soundtrack
and Third Eye Blind BLUE (note: only track 11 is HDCD making this a unique title)

[Bingo]

Peruvian...I'm one of those OLD farts that only listens to Classical, broadway musicals, a little New Orleans Jazz and some big band stuff out of the forties....HA! All of the one's you listed as HD CDs are greek to me.....there probably aren't many CDs in my genre that are HDs...but its fun finding out how you sprightly YOUNG dudes enjoy your music ... from the old FART....Nolan

[Feanor]

Peruvian...I'm one of those OLD farts that only listens to Classical, broadway musicals, a little New Orleans Jazz and some big band stuff out of the forties....HA! All of the one's you listed as HD CDs are greek to me.....there probably aren't many CDs in my genre that are HDs...but its fun finding out how you sprightly YOUNG dudes enjoy your music ... from the old FART....Nolan

Nolan,

I'm not quite as old a fart as you, but I am a fart, and a fairly old one at that. The sad thing is that classical music lovers like us are far and few between here at the AR forums.

The only HDCD disk that I know I have are, as in your case, Reference Recordings discs. These are great sounding of course, whether or not HDCD decoded. I recommend the John Rutter: "Requiem" recording for especially good choral and overall sound ...
http://www.referencerecordings.com/choraleorgan.asp

[PeruvianSkies]

Peruvian...I'm one of those OLD farts that only listens to Classical, broadway musicals, a little New Orleans Jazz and some big band stuff out of the forties....HA! All of the one's you listed as HD CDs are greek to me.....there probably aren't many CDs in my genre that are HDs...but its fun finding out how you sprightly YOUNG dudes enjoy your music ... from the old FART....Nolan

My favorite 'type' of music happens to be Classical. My favorites would include, but not be limited to:

RAVEL, BEETHOVEN, MOZART, DEBUSSY, PROKOFIEV, TCHAIKOVSKY, BACH, HANDEL, HAYDN, RACHMANINOFF, VIVALDI, SCHUBERT, OFFENBACH, GRIEG, and the list goes on...

My top selections would probably be:

Bach's BWV 639 "Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ"
Mozart's Requiem
Beethoven's Pathetic Sonata Op. 13 & entire 9th
Handel's Sarabande
Schubert's Piano Trio in E-Flat, Opp 100
Ravel's Bolero

I also love alot of blues and blues rock, but as far as HDCD's go...I don't have any that are classical.

[Dusty Chalk]

Tres bon!

[anamorphic96]

By luck I scored two more HDCD encoded discs.

Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Scaggs
Dave Brubeck's - Time Out

The Dave Brubeck is especially good. Never heard this disc sound so good.

[PeruvianSkies]

By luck I scored two more HDCD encoded discs.

Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Scaggs
Dave Brubeck's - Time Out

The Dave Brubeck is especially good. Never heard this disc sound so good.

Is TIME OUT also a SACD title out there somewhere??? I know i've seen some Brubeck on SACD....

[anamorphic96]

Is TIME OUT also a SACD title out there somewhere??? I know i've seen some Brubeck on SACD....

I think I have seen it on SACD. Not completely sure though.

[Feanor]

Is TIME OUT also a SACD title out there somewhere??? I know i've seen some Brubeck on SACD....

I have it on SACD: Columbia CS 65122. It is multi-channel but -- N.B. -- not hybrid; willl not play on standard CD players.

[anamorphic96]

Picked up another tonight. This one is on the Columbia label like the Dave Brubeck disc I bought.

Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin, and Paco DeLucia - Friday Night In San Francisco

I also picked up the Death Proof soundtrack and during the dialog tracks from the movie the HDCD light would blink sporadically. Kinda strange given none of the music caused it to light up.

[aarondoo7]

A quick look at the back of some discs reveals that Joni Mitchell, Roxy Music, Meatloaf, Rodney Crowell And Carly Simon remasters are all HDCD. There is also a Scandanavian website which lists them all.

[aarondoo7]

And here's the link: www.hifimusic.se/hdcd/?

[Rich-n-Texas]

Nope. Not the way I remember it. Rock-n-roll music, although these days very much labelled was never considered to be Pop. Captain & Tenille(sp?)... Pop. Deep Purple. NOT Pop. Mariah Carey... Pop, Jethro Tull, Yes, Led Zeppelin... Pop? Not likely.

I think this discussion is drifting towards the Rave Recordings category...

[Dusty Chalk]

Look, I used to be like you, so take this blast with a grain of salt: you're just trying to pat yourself on the back by trying to be able to say that you listen to music that is not popular -- get over yourself. Eventually, you'll run into a piece of music that is so good that you won't care how popular it is, you'll like it despite its popularity. You will eventually look back on that day as a happy day. There is nothing wrong with the label pop music, though you might dislike a lot of it. Pop music (like "classic rock" and "indie" or "alternative") is one of the worst terms to describe music, because it does not describe the music itself.

Also, I think we're having a nomenclature problem. To me, there are only umpteen different types of music: classical, jazz, pop/rock (yes, I lump them together -- sometimes I just call it "contemporary"), and then the different world musics -- tibetan monk music, Indian drone-based music, &c.

Look, this is just a nomenclature problem that started when you questioned a use of the term to describe Neil Young, and which has since been clarified. We will never agree on the use of the term, so just get over yourself.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Look, I used to be like you, so take this blast with a grain of salt: you're just trying to pat yourself on the back by trying to be able to say that you listen to music that is not popular -- get over yourself...

We will never agree on the use of the term, so just get over yourself.

My apologies DC. I didn't realize this was such a touchy subject with you.

I'll say potatoe, and you say potato. Sound good?

[PeruvianSkies]

Rich,

You are beginning to see a common problem around this forum. How does a thread about HDCD's suddenly become a debate over whether or not Neil Young is Popular or not? No idea either, but it seems around here that no topic is safe from debates and attacks. I didn't think that responding to your questions about DVD-A would turn into a huge war either. Anyway...

To answer your question:

The Neil Young CD of 'Greatest Hits' is encoded with HDCD, there are no other versions of that CD. Most of the time you will not be given specifics as to whether a disc is HDCD or not. It's not like SACD where you are talking about a different format.

Peace.

[R.S.]

I really started getting into classical about 6 months ago. I forced myself to seriously listen to it and all I can say is Wow!! It is addictive once you become familiar with some of the melodies, etc. Favorites so far are Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Ravel, Delius, Respighi, Dvorak, Grieg, and Grofe (mostly Romantic era).

It is frustrating that I could not find any classical HDCDs. Hence I splurged on an SACD player. Classical in surround sound is amazing with all of the instruments, plus there are a ton of titles available. I do recommend the RCA Living Stereo SACDs... some great performances from 50's in state of the art remastered sound. They were recorded in 2 or 3 channel, so it's not "technically" surround sound, but my 7.1 receiver will convert it into surround (it sounds excellent in 2 or 3 channel too). If you love classical music, an SACD player is highly recommended.

As for the Neil Young's greatest hits HDCD, I picked it up at a local Target store.

[Feanor]

I really started getting into classical about 6 months ago. I forced myself to seriously listen to it and all I can say is Wow!! It is addictive once you become familiar with some of the melodies, etc. Favorites so far are Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Brahms, Ravel, Delius, Respighi, Dvorak, Grieg, and Grofe (mostly Romantic era).

It is frustrating that I could not find any classical HDCDs. Hence I splurged on an SACD player. Classical in surround sound is amazing with all of the instruments, plus there are a ton of titles available. I do recommend the RCA Living Stereo SACDs... some great performances from 50's in state of the art remastered sound. They were recorded in 2 or 3 channel, so it's not "technically" surround sound, but my 7.1 receiver will convert it into surround (it sounds excellent in 2 or 3 channel too). If you love classical music, an SACD player is highly recommended.

As for the Neil Young's greatest hits HDCD, I picked it up at a local Target store.

Classical has a lot to offer for those willing to make the effort, but it is basically "serious" music, (to use the term favored by some). For me the Romantic era wasn't and isn't my favorite, but I have a fair collection none the less. I recommend that you eventually explore other eras, perhaps beginning with the Baroque but eventually also the Contemporary.

You are absolutely right the classical in multi-channel is great. Personally I prefer true 5.1 channel versions of large-scale orchestral and choral works. Despite that I do listen 90% to my stereo system; the multi-channel advantage is a bit less for chamber music and solo works.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Rich,

You are beginning to see a common problem around this forum. How does a thread about HDCD's suddenly become a debate over whether or not Neil Young is Popular or not? No idea either, but it seems around here that no topic is safe from debates and attacks. I didn't think that responding to your questions about DVD-A would turn into a huge war either. Anyway...

To answer your question:

The Neil Young CD of 'Greatest Hits' is encoded with HDCD, there are no other versions of that CD. Most of the time you will not be given specifics as to whether a disc is HDCD or not. It's not like SACD where you are talking about a different format.

Peace.

Thus the original intention of this topic. I understand, I just find it hard to believe that Neil Young CD would be so cheap. I guess it's time to do some more homework on HDCD recording and the Red book standard.

Edit: Well, maybe not. This looks like a political (DRM) hot potatoe, and I don't like to mix politics with music.

I think a good compromise for me in regards to classical music would be some of Bruce Hornsby & The Range's work. I'll bet ya "The Way It Is" would sound great in a multi-channel output format.