David Looser wrote:
"Don Pearce" wrote in message
...
Glenn Richards wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:

That is a big difference, but why would they bother to do it that way?
Far easier just to master the whole thing 6dB lower - it certainly won't
be running out of dynamic range at the bottom end. I speak as someone
who owns an Arcam Alpha 9, an HDCD player (very ashamed of myself for
falling for it).
Two words. Loudness war.

If you master it 6dB lower then it'll be 6dB quieter than everyone else's
CD. And that would never do.

But an HDCD disc doesn't play back correctly on a conventional player - it
is actually distorted. When it is played back as intended it is identical
to mastering 6dB lower and allowing the high peaks. So loudness doesn't
come into it.


This thread really does show how much the lunatics have been allowed to take
over the asylum. We have a perfectly good medium (the CD) with more than
enough dynamic range for any normal music or speech listening requirement.
Yet something called an "HDCD" that does no better a job on a special player
than ordinary CD does on an ordinary player, and a worse one on an ordinary
player, is billed as "better". What is going on?

David.



Your guess is as good as mine.

d