HDCD titles for new Rotel 1072

[spkerguy]

Hey everyone,
Very happy with my new 1072 CDP. Although I didn't buy it for the HDCD decoding, I had some questions about HDCDs. Do they still make them? Where can I find available titles? Any good recommendations out there?


Thanks,


Ken

[bleeding ears]

Dire Straits is a good one!

[chrispy35]

I'll second the vote for Dire Straits.

Also, check out Holly Cole (Romantically Helpless) and Beck (Sea Change).

Chris P.

[thyname]

Tough luck with HDCDs, not too many titles out there. I second Dire Straits, excellent "best of" in HDCD!

[adinfinitum]

The other day I picked up Roxy Music - Flesh and blood in HDCD, very nice. Also a Best Of Doors remastering, in which several of the songs (although not all) are HDCD. I've also found a few Mark Knoffler and Neil Young titles are HDCD. If you like Blues, Keb' Mo - Slow Down is HDCD and one of the bassiest CD's I've heard, real speaker test that one.

[Azeke]

Try this URL for some HDCD listings:

HDCD listings

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[jim777]

Dave Brubeck, Vanessa Mae, Steve Vai and Megadeth have made at least one each.

[Club1820]

So for someone who isnt familiar with HDCD - What is the difference between them and regular cd's?

Thanks!

[J.H.]

No offence to any one but not much of a difference. Its something that really never caught on too strong and really is a huge upgrade in sound quality. If you have the right equipment some difference but not mind blowing or anything. Thats just my opinion though you may feel different. J.H.

[adinfinitum]

I agree to a point J.H.

Some of my best recordings are redbook. But ALL of my HDCD are excellent recordings. If nothing else, you can be confident that the recording studios put a little more effort into the mastering of HDCD. None of those 'let's put 25+ highly compressed songs on one CD for better value for money' CDs that so often dominate. One thing I do find, is that most of my HDCD seem to have better bass extension and tighter bass. Maybe just a coincidence due to the music source and recording but I do believe there is noticable difference.

Club,
HDCD is not that different. It is compatible with normal CD players. You might even find that some of your CDs are HDCD and don't know it. The only way to tell is if you have a HDCD compatible player and the little red LED lights up showing that its decoding HDCD. IIRC, it simply has a faster bit rate, something in the vicinity of 20 bit as opposed to redbook CD at around 16 bit sampling. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. They originally had a HDCD logo printed somewhere on the rear cover but they don't even bother now. Some of the hybrid SACD/CD discs have the CD layer as HDCD I hope this is a continuing trend and not just a once-off (eg: Bros in Arms).

[Club1820]

yes, I have the rotel 1055 cd changer that also plays HDCD. Just was wondering if it was worth it to pick up some HDCDs.

Thanks.

[adinfinitum]

I think it's worth it. The Roxy Music I picked up from a bargain table and it sounds much better than my father's older redbook version. But again, could be as much to do with a quality remastering than the format. Either way, it's one of my reference discs now.

P.S. Sorry Club if my post was a little patronising. I thought from your question your were asking what the format was.

[Club1820]

No problem Ad. Didnt take it that way at all.

[spkerguy]

Hey everyone,

Just put a lot of my CDs in and noticed I do have a couple of HDCD titles. I like it when the HDCD light comes on! Jewel, Grateful dead (can you believe that), stabbing westword, just to name a few. I did notice a slight difference in quality compared to redbook playback but I do have some redbook CDs that are a lot better than my HDCD titles (all the diana krall titles for example).

Thanks,

Ken

[Vicente]

Also some Mark Knopfler and Dixie Chicks CD's come in HDCD.

[moe32274]

The Bee Gee's Greatest Hits "The Record" (2001) is an excellent HDCD. Highly recommended - as are polyester jumpsuits and gold chains


Moe

[spkerguy]

Thanks everyone for the HDCD recommendations. I'm going to be picking up a few of them. I popped in Greatful Dead "American Beauty" (not that it is my usual genre of music listening) and almost listened to the entire CD. Incredible sounding. Another highly recommended HDCD!

Ken

[Rob Baker]

Sara Evans also has one or two in HDCD aswell.

Baker