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I own a Marantz DV9500 which does not decode HDCD and have been told that with DBpoweramp I can rip HDCD encoded stuff (in this case Joni Mitchell's Court and Sparks) and, provided I do the rip properly, I can then play it out of my computer (using my Meridian Explorer as the DAC) and get the full benefits of the HDCD sound. Wondering if there's an easy way to do it. I've read through some stuff here but, unfortunately, I'm pretty technically illiterate. Does anyone have a simple, step by step method for doing what I describe above? Thanks!
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Re: How can I rip an HDCD encoded disc and then play it back from my computer in HDCD
As long as you rip to lossless, you can safely rip without any HDCD detection applied, because it is flagged in-signal and can always be detected and applied later. I did convert mine upon ripping, which I now regret, and I have started re-ripping those when I find them. There are a few threads on that by now -- first search brought me these two:
In order to apply HDCD on-the-fly upon playback, you need a player that detects and decodes HDCD. My solution is the foobar2000 player with the HDCD component: http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_hdcd . The catch is that this player does usually not appeal to those who think of themselves as technically illiterate -- it is not hard to set up, but you won't get it flashy without working a bit (or copying someone else's install). But if all you want is to select and play, then it is not very hard. Also, Windows Media Player supports HDCD (HDCD is owned by Microsoft), but then you need to install the relevant lossless codecs: http://xiph.org/dshow/downloads/
It should be mentioned that many HDCDs don't use a single HDCD feature -- the CD just says "I'm a HDCD, and the following features are used:" [and then nothing]. The important HDCD feature is the peak extension, because without it, HDCD-encoded CDs get their top 9 dB dynamics squeezed down to a third. (BTW, there is one HDCD feature, called the transient filters, which you will not get through software -- neither upon ripping nor later -- only through a DAC with a HDCD chip.)Last edited by Porcus; March 24, 2013, 11:45 PM. -
Re: How can I rip an HDCD encoded disc and then play it back from my computer in HDCD
Thanks a lot for this. I've been using winamp as my player lately. Do you know if that decodes HDCD? If not, are you saying that the simplest way for me to do this is just do a regular rip in dbpoweramp and then, when I want to play the disc, install the Windows Media Player plug in and play from Windows Media, through my Meridian Explorer, into preamp and out through speakers?Comment
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Re: How can I rip an HDCD encoded disc and then play it back from my computer in HDCD
that would work. Foobar2000 also has a component that allows playback of an HDCD FLAC file. Or you can create a separate version of your original rip that uses the HDCD DSP as outlined in the thread below in order to play back on a nonHDCD playback system. (p.s. Your mileage may vary, but if you expect night and day improvement (or even *any* improvement) on playing back a true HDCD, you are likely be disappointed. Of course there may be some exceptio0ns, but I wouldn't recommend working too hard at doing all this)
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