22 replies to this topic

[SimpleHunk]

Thanks Bon, this time we are really getting into the details ... we even get to interior trims, etc etc .... very very pro indeed.

Anthony, or anyone of you can give me some advice, yes it is HD-X1 i m talking about, the HDCD chip somehow just sooooooo attractive to me, cos most of my CDs are HDCD, so that little chip "supposed" to match with my CDs perfectly .....

or that is just another piece of ordinary chip mounted on the circurt board?

Will HDCD match with a HDCD chip sound MUCH better than a non HDCD chipped source unit?

Any idea, views, suggestion, opinion, sharing, mostly welcomed.

[bodapa]

I assume that you've been to Microsoft's HDCD site? If not, then go to http://www.hdcd.com for a full explanation of it. According to the website, it is better to have a HDCD-enabled player for your HDCD encoded CDs because then the player can decode the remaining 4-bit data present in the HDCD CDs, thereby "opening up" the full sonic information contained within. This would translate to better imaging, depth, etc.

As to whether it will sound MUCH better, I'll leave it up to you. If my past experience is anything to go by, I found that it does sound more "open", imaging and depth improve but not by a considerable margin. After all, it depends on the recording process itself. I've heard HDCD discs that are ordinary even when played through a HDCD player, and there are ones that sound better with the HDCD player.

Try this: every Windows Media Player has a HDCD software decoder programmed inside, which means that every Tom, Dick and Harry who have Windows XP on their computers would have HDCD enabled players built in. You can tell if the HDCD processing is on by just inserting the disc and play it with WMP, a HDCD icon will appear on the bottom left corner of the player. Listen to the music with WMP, familiarise yourself with the nuances of a particular track then run down to your car and play the same track on your HU. Assuming all else being equal, adjust the volume so it is "perceived" to be of the same level of intensity as the volume of your computer's sound. What would that tell you?

That's the cheapest way of comparing HDCD and non HDCD player that I could think of...

Cheers,

Bon

PS: With Windows Media Player it is necessary for you to turn on the 24 bit processing. Go to Tools, Options and click the Devices tab. Select Speakers and click on Properties. Under Performance, put a check mark on the box that says Use 24-bit audio for audio CDs, then click OK. You also have to check whether your DVD/CD ROM's digital CD audio is enabled. Go to your Control Panel, click on System and click on the Hardware tab. Click on the Device Manager button, go to your DVD/CD ROM drives, select it, right click and click on Properties. Click the Properties tab and check whether Enable digital CD audio for this CD-ROM drive box is ticked. If it is, you're set, if not then put a check mark. Then you're set.

The steps here are for Windows Media Player 8 and 9, it is the same with WMP 10 but due to GUI changes it might be confusing at first, and also with WMP 10 the HDCD logo no longer appears on the bottom left corner, it sometimes appears on the bottom center of the player, next to the volume slider bar.

[SimpleHunk]

Thank you for your input bodapa

Yes, i have been to Bill's HDCD site.

I will definitely do a comparison between them. My experience, is a HDCD already sound audiably different, or better with my CD-45z, CD-400 or CD-700. That is why it come to my mind that D1 might be able to uplift the SQ again .... with that little chip, of course, I might be wrong.

Thanks again.

[dazdillinger]

just on the topic of HDCD, i have a cdp at home that decodes HDCD and on listening to various HDCD cds i can comment that the quality, crispness, and especially imaging are far superior to non hdcd encoded cds. such examples of the hdcds ive listened to are jewel - spirit, and dire straights - sultans of swing
however, having said that, i have not performed any direct comparisons between a non hdcd version of those very cds so i guess i cant, with 100% authority say that the differences were due to the fact they were HDCD, or just the fact that it was just a plain better recording ie if a cd comes in HDCD format theres a good chance it is being recorded well anyway.
however i DEFINITELY, notice a difference between teh quality of HDCDs ive listened to on my cdp compared to non cdp.

[SimpleHunk]

Thanks Daz.

unlike your case, I have some cd i bought when i was a kid, so not particular technology involve there, should be those 16 bit may be. I bought CD with those songs in it again in HDCD and I listen to it, definitely a very noticable difference. Technology flies and make everything so much better, or more artifical may be .... :roll:

i also have some cd who are not HDCD, but are digital mastered by Denon 20 bit technology, and they sound awesome. Mastersonic it is called.

[MattyP]

Can't find that 24bit option in WMP, however I probably don't need it with Sound Blaster Audigy card and all. I also put in the Dixie Chicks 'Home' CD on computer as that's HDCD and no icon came up :-/

[Bassaholic]

The reason HDCDs sound different, is simply due to them using a differently mastered/remastered version of the recording.

Back on topic, I agree with the others when they say that active has a big advantage when it comes to flexibility/tunability. Provided you have the right gear - ie you can change the point and slope, as well as an equaliser to tune the response, it can be very handy to fine tune the crossover to your actual install.

Active crossovers also have a HUGE advantage when it comes to low frequencies - this is why practically every system with subwoofers uses a separate amplifier with its own active low pass filter.

Quality custom passive crossovers are often quite expensive (active is also quite expensive when you consider the cost of the extra amplifiers etc) and obviously are much harder to tune.

There is no reason why one will automatically be more natural or *insert subjective adjective here*. The sound is determined by the frequency response, so if you are able to get the active filter to have the same response as the passive filter, then there is no reason why the passive filter would be superior. At the same time, with active, you would avoid the undesirable effects that a poorly designed passive crossover would have on the response. This is why no one uses passive components for sub bass frequencies, because the resistance of the filter would greatly reduce the damping factor and therefore have a mucked up response.

As mentioned in the link that Winno posted, active is also easier on the amplifier. Although realistically, a decent passive crossover should not be a problem for almost all amplifiers. (only noteable exceptions would likely be amplifiers with tube output stages)

[bodapa]

MattyP said:

Can't find that 24bit option in WMP, however I probably don't need it with Sound Blaster Audigy card and all.  I also put in the Dixie Chicks 'Home' CD on computer as that's HDCD and no icon came up :-/

Oh? Well that's strange, if the album is encoded with HDCD the icon should came up. I may have missed a step somewhere, because the icon should light up whenever a HDCD encoded disc is inserted and played. Anyone else with HDCD discs tried playing them on Windows Media Player?

Cheers,

Bon