HDCD-encoded CDs

Status
Not open for further replies.

Rudy

¡Que siga la fiesta!
Staff member
Site Admin
I was just ripping my Carpenters CDs to the network box a few moments ago. Using dBpoweramp, it can detect if a disc is HDCD encoded or not. I discovered As Time Goes By is HDCD. Now granted, I only listened to it once, but the number of HDCDs in my collection is very minimal (maybe 15 or 20 by the time I'm done). I do not see the logo in the booklet, on the disc, or in the tray insert. I still have the cellophane sticker, and the only thing it says is "Enhanced Sound Quality". This was the Japanese issued CD.

HDCD can decode to the equivalent of 20 bits. With dBpoweramp, I can write it out to a 24-bit file, which pads the top or bottom four bits with zeros. Very few players support HDCD, but Windows Media Player does have the capability, and the logo will appear in the player if the disc is encoded. Likewise, if a player supports HDCD, a logo will illuminate on playback.

The first three BR5-49 studio albums are HDCD. Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits is also. Out of his entire Columbia catalog of dozens of albums, only the Miles Davis Tribute to Jack Johnson is HDCD encoded. Neil Young's Mirror Ball has HDCD encoding, and was the first rock CD to have it. Supposedly the CD layer of my Dire Straits Brothers In Arms SACD from several years ago is encoded. A couple of the earlier Audio Fidelity gold CDs are HDCD encoded also. It's a rarity, but sort of a pleasant surprise to find such a disc among the collection.
 
My AS TIME GOES BY from Japan lights up the HDCD indicator on WMP too, as it does on Annie Haslam's ANNIE IN WONDERLAND, but that one plainly states that it's an HDCD. I'm wondering if some mastering error on the Carpenters disc is lighting up the indicator even though it's not officially an HDCD. Kind of like an old FM stereo pilot light that's on, but the sound is still mono.

The odd thing about Windows Media Player 12 is that if you go into Tools / Options / Devices / Speakers. you'll see a checkbox that if checked, should allow the computer to play 24-bit encoded discs. But when that's turned ON, the HDCD indicator doesn't come on. It only comes on when the check box is empty. Weird.

I have a gut feeling that some other disc of mine is also HDCD labeled, but I can't remember what it is.

Harry
 
There were many discs HDCD encoded that weren't advertised as such on the packaging, so it is not uncommon. The Miles Davis above has no indication, and the same CD mastering was used for the large 70 (?) CD box set, as that also shows as HDCD. For kicks, I just ripped the CD layer of the SACD of Brothers In Arms and the tracks did indeed show up as HDCD, despite no marking on the tray insert or booklet:

upload_2014-5-6_10-16-30.png

I am wondering if it had to do with the sale of Pacific Microsonics to Microsoft (which is why Windows Media Player supports it). It never was popular, and some artists and engineers did not like using it since it slightly degraded the sound of the CD if not decoded. And I do mean slightly. If anything, playback on standard CD players will compromise the dynamic range slightly, which is probably not even audible unless you knew what to listen for. The decoded data does "expand" to 20-bits, which is why dBpoweramp can take that decoded data and put it into a 24-bit file (with four padded bits). There are more technical explanations online for anyone who's interested.

Interesting to note is that the encoding can be on a track-by-track basis. One of the HDCD lists mentioned that a CD compilation which used digital sources from various recordings had a few tracks that were HDCD encoded, and others that weren't. The flag for it is encoded in each track, not the disc itself, which is the opposite of the rarely-used pre-emphasis flag for CDs. (Which reminds me, ripping CDs with pre-emphasis to a data file will end up with a bright sounding file; I think I only have two of those in my collection.)
 

Attachments

  • upload_2014-5-6_10-16-31.png
    upload_2014-5-6_10-16-31.png
    74.5 KB · Views: 3
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom