Will the HDCD format survive

HDCD is a band-aid and sounds like it. Hope it disappears.

I think HDCDs are already becoming obsolete because recent non-HDCDs are mostly well recorded, and much better than the recordings of even a few years old. I own an HDCD player, and though I can still tell the difference between HDCD and non-HDCD encoded CD's, the margin is slimming all the time. If you don't have an HDCD player, playing HDCD encoded disks that aren't properly decoded by the HDCD filter tend to sound worse than non encoded CD's, so there is a slight sonic penalty to be paid by not owning one.

The real reason hdcd will be a non issue is the Pacific Microsoft PMC 100 chip is inferior to the Burr Brown -- hands down.Regular cds sound better with this 24/96 chip in the dac.Why would all the MFG's be scrambling to add this? Carl,does RA add this chip as an upgrade, to your unit?

E-mail Pacific Microsonics, Keith Johnson, or Jeff Kalt about their philosophies regarding HDCD, and also what Jeff uses in the new CD55. He'll be happy to set you straight...I'm not the manufacturer, I only defend my player on issues of sound quality. Have you heard the CD50 or CD55? You need to hear mine, come visit it. HDCD's are clearly superior with regards to dynamic contrast, to those that have not been mastered with the process. Sony's super bit mapping process is about halfway to the improvement of the HDCD process. You and other detractors have argued since HDCD's inception, that it does nothing for CD's. I've even argued with manufacturers about it, and none have convinced me that, to not decode the HDCD subcoded "triggers", somehow is better than to decode them. Just doesn't fly. So what makes you think you can somehow prove this to me? Different manufacturers always feel differently about this issue, and I know what I hear. Do you believe what you hear first hand? No offense, but I wouldn't, if I were your age...just my pinion...

Actually, Burr Brown makes a chip that decodes HDCD, so there's no reason to make such a compromise. My opinion? As long as there's extra bits, there will always be a market for HDCD encoding/decoding technology. Although with the advent of 24/96 and higher PCM rates, it becomes an increasingly niche market.