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Do HDCDs sound terrible on non HDCD players?

Being an analog guy I have but a small collection of CDs and only a handfull are HDCD encoded. All of them sound terrible on my non HDCD player with thick lower midranges, smeared, closed-in textures and a general lack of cohesiveness. For reference my player is the original Rega Planet and the HDCDs are as follows: Olu Dara, In This World, Steve Earle, El Corazon, Garcia and Grisman, Shady Grove, Neil Young, Silver and Gold. Any opininons?
128x128viridian
glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
I have a fare amount of HDCDs in my collection. I've tried them both ways and in my opinion they generally sound better through an HDCD decoder. I have however heard of a few dacs that do the job as good if not better without the HDCD decoding feature. I personally think you'd be happier if you could in fact decode the HDCD format, but with a small collection it may not be worth the investment.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
They should play like any regular CD on a non HDCD player. Have you heard them on a HDCD player? They may sound that way in any format. What kind of cables are you using with your Planet?
viridian's avatar
viridian OP
4,184 posts
 
Glen, no doubt they would sound better on a HDCD player but I like the Planet for the balance of my discs. Sugarbie, I use several pairs of interconnects, switching them out, Kimber KC-1, Alpha Core Micro Purl, and Audioquest Quartz. The KC-1 sounds the best with the above discs as it is leanest and most focused.
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