HDCD playback on your computer

[HiWire]

This isn't a definitive tip, but I think I might have gotten the HDCD player I was looking for – free of charge.

Most of us know that HDCD technology was developed by Pacific Microsonics and later acquired by Microsoft. What I didn't know was that my laptop (ASUS N56VZ-DS71) was capable of playing HDCD... my old desktop system used a Sound Blaster Audigy, which was a decent sound card for its time.

This new laptop uses a Realtek High Definition Audio codec, which most of us would laugh at, since it's been the default audio solution in millions of systems for about the last decade... however, I believe it has full support for 24-bit audio.

To enable HDCD playback, you have to use Windows Media Player (v12 since Windows 7):

1. Click on the Organize button in the toolbar, and click on Options

2. Click on the Devices tab

3. Click on Speakers in the list of devices and click on the Properties button

4. In the new window, check the following box in the Performance section: Use 24-bit audio for audio CDs (there is a warning to turn this option off if you encounter playback problems)

That's it! Oddly, the HDCD logo only appears in the lower left corner of the window when I do the opposite (i.e., uncheck Use 24-bit audio) to play the disc. The volume level gets noticeably louder without 24-bit audio enabled. I'm not sure if that means the functions have been reversed by accident or the increased dynamic range of HDCD means quieter playback. Overall, everything sounds great and the noise floor might be a bit lower (literally).

I rifled through my music collection and noticed that I don't have that many labelled HDCD albums... just a few albums by the Cars and all the Roxy Music discs (except Avalon, which I have in SACD). Also Beck's Midnight Vultures and Dire Straights' Brothers in Arms. You have to be careful with HDCDs because quite a few discs were recorded on HDCD equipment and thus light up properly on HDCD players but aren't actually encoded in HDCD. You could call it a musical Easter Egg hunt, like so many other things in audiophilia.

Here's a handy list of HDCDs from Head-Fi: http://www.head-fi.org/t/65414/hdcd-list

Happy listening!

Edited September 18, 2016 by HiWire

[EdipisReks1]

I used to have an HDCD capable CD player (modded music hall something or other).  I never noticed much of a difference, but I always liked it when the orange (I think it was orange) light came on.

Edited September 18, 2016 by EdipisReks1

[HiWire]

I think it was more of a theoretical technology at the time of its conception. With current technology, it's more practical – I think high-end players and amplification are capable of resolving the information. Coincidentally, the technology reduced playback quality on non-HDCD players (albeit as the least significant bit), kind of like Dolby did with compact cassettes.

Too bad it's long past its applicable date... it's a musical freebie for a random bunch of albums. Other than the Oppo, I don't know of any in-production disc players that can decode HDCD.

There is a bit more technical info on HDCD from "CHansen" in that Head-Fi thread – Charlie Hansen, founder of Ayre Acoustics: http://www.head-fi.org/t/65414/hdcd-list/570#post_12725140

Edited September 18, 2016 by HiWire

[Dusty Chalk]

1 hour ago, HiWire said:

Oddly, the HDCD logo only appears in the lower left corner of the window when I do the opposite (i.e., uncheck Use 24-bit audio) to play the disc.

You have to be careful with HDCDs because quite a few discs were recorded on HDCD equipment and thus light up properly on HDCD players but aren't actually encoded in HDCD.

First of all, if it lights up, then it was encoded.  It's determining whether or not to decode HDCD (the same condition that causes the light to light up) directly from the digital audio stream (the bottom-most bit, to be specific).  There are a variety of encodings, that might be what is throwing you.

Secondly, are you sure the "doing the opposite" thing isn't an indication of a bug -- specifically, what I interpret that to mean is that when you check 'use 24-bit-audio', you're enabling upsampling, and it might be upsampling the undecoded stream (as many DACs did, back in the day, which is why I always wanted a digital means of decoding the bitstream, like the Pacific Microsonics Model One or Two), hence destroying the encoding bit pattern?  In other words, how are you confirming that the decoded stream is decoded when it's supposed to be and not when it's not (and please don't tell me, 'by ear')?

[HiWire]

The HDCD flag stayed on when I played Beck's Midnight Vultures, regardless of whether the feature was checked or not. The Audio Fidelity version of the Cars' Heartbeat City, which is what I was listening to when I wrote the first post, seems to have encoding errors.

I could use foobar to check, as indicated in the Head-Fi thread. Microsoft is fairly unclear about what 24-bit audio does, other than to claim that HDCD will play back at "full audio quality. The audio quality of standard CDs is not affected."

Speaking of the Model One and Two – it's interesting to see that Berkeley Audio Design's Alpha DAC Reference Series 2 still has a HDCD light and they advise converting DSD to PCM on the computer rather than on the DAC: http://www.berkeleyaudiodesign.com/alpha-dac-reference-series-2/

A paean to Keith Johnson's work: http://www.ultraaudio.com/features/20090201.htm

The developer of the foobar2000 HDCD decoder says it will reduce a HDCD recording by about 6 dB: https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,79427.msg734218.html#msg734218

Edited September 18, 2016 by HiWire

[DefQon]

This I did not know, going to try it out and play the only HDCD I have Tool - Lateralus. I've always noticed HDCD disc on capable HDCD cd players sound little bit laid back.

[HiWire]

Your results might be a bit inconclusive (Lateralus popped up a few times in the discussion):

https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,79427.msg716859.html#msg716859

and

https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,79427.msg716795.html#msg716795

and

https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,79427.msg787661.html#msg787661

Edited September 18, 2016 by HiWire

[DefQon]

That explains why I felt the album sounded a bit laid back on my now $3000 door stop Classe CD/DVD 1 player. 

[HiWire]

Ugh... hope you were able to get another player. I spent some time researching Ayre's C-5xe^MP laser replacement last night, just out of curiosity.

The Sony laser in my Arcam CD36 is still going strong. I don't put that many hours into it.

[DefQon]

I've been meaning to repair it for about 3 years now but its out of anybody's expertise to repair it as it uses IC's also utilized in the infamous Philips SACD1000 player.

 

I've been ripping SACD's lately from my Pioneer Blu ray player (one Kevin recommended in the other sub forum) as my old PS3 needs to retire. I swear with some HDCD's on my Classe player when it worked, it sounded quite good compared to the usual redbook I also owned.

Edited September 18, 2016 by DefQon

[HiWire]

It's been hard for me to tell the difference between Red Book and SACD quality on various rigs... I think the hi-fi manufacturers are still chasing a moving target when it comes to optimizing digital sound quality. Ayre's apodizing filter of 2009 (apparently also in Meridian players) was news to me and Stereophile seemed to love it... my player uses an upsampling DAC and the previous Arcam players used dCS's Ring DAC.

DAC technology seems to change very quickly and I don't think most of us are capable of understanding all the technology. At the end of the day, you still have to do a lot of listening to make a decision. I do enjoy Stereophile (and Tyll's) attempts to measure and quantify output, but a lot of what we hear probably can't be measured yet. Also, the manufacturers make a lot of noise about their DAC chips but you usually don't get as much analysis on the analog output stage or power supply, which are critical. I'm relieved the great jitter scare is over for now.

[Nifrigel]

I have Berkeley Alpha DAC and I use HDCD for testing digital output. The HDCD indicator on the DAC lights if and only if nothing messes with the digital stream when HDCD recording is played. Even when volume is adjusted (changed from the default value) in software player, or when OS native digital output is used instead of ASIO/WASAPI, DAC fails to recognize HDCD. Naturally, it also affects the sound.

[HiWire]

That's annoying... in the Hydrogenaudio thread, the posters mentioned a lot of inconsistency in HDCD recordings (even coding HDCD on one channel!) and the developer, kode54 (as well as Charlie Hansen), wrote that a lot of recordings didn't use the Peak Extend function and virtually none of them used Low Level Range Extend.

The more I read about HDCD, the more I find out what a mess it was in implementation by the recording studios. Also, people seem to fight about it a lot on the internet – so much noise for such a small, random assortment of albums. No wonder hi-fi manufacturers wanted to stop paying royalties for it.

Looks like Steve Hoffman abandoned HDCD five years ago: https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,87874.0.html

Edited September 18, 2016 by HiWire

[Dusty Chalk]

5 hours ago, Nifrigel said:

The HDCD indicator on the DAC lights if and only if nothing messes with the digital stream when HDCD recording is played. Even when volume is adjusted (changed from the default value) in software player, or when OS native digital output is used instead of ASIO/WASAPI, DAC fails to recognize HDCD. 

That's correct. As I already explained, it's encoded into the bitstream, so the bitstream needs to be untampered with.  Think about it, they're putting a signal that has nothing to do with the audio into the audio, so if you do anything with the signal at all  (including mixing it with nothing), it's going to disappear like a thread of string in a volcano.