For OPPO owners. HDCD function


  For many  years I put the HDCD setting to ON in the settings function, with the confidence that Reference Recordings which use that coding would sound as they should.  
I always wondered why those encoded CDs never sounded very good.  Indeed they sounded flat and lifeless and at a very low volume.

Lo and behold, I turned OFF the setting today and the same recordings came to life with much higher volume and greater detail.

Is it my machine or a design flaw from OPPO?

 

 

128x128rvpiano

Keep in mind, a lot of CD's have the bit set on for HDCD, but don't use any of the HDCD features.  It was an artifact of the default settings.

I found code online and with some hackery converted all of my HDCD recordings to 24 bit FLAC.

 

Best,

 

Erik

My dac automatically acknowledges when an HDCD disc has been inserted into my transport, and I must say, I enjoy greatly how they sound.

I have nothing for your particular situation, but I found that HDCDs sound amazingly great even on players that don't decode them. Often better than SACDs. Seems odd that it would be any different on the Oppo.