K2 HDCD Recordings

Looks like Music Direct removed the K2 HD CDs from the HDCD category. Very quick response. Seems like it was a careless oversight.

"All's well that ends well"

Music Direct just sent me an RA#. I will be refunded as well. They will also be checking the ad for K2HD recordings. Good people there as Music Direct...

Some thoughts and opinions:

1. K2HD is not the same as HDCD.

2. I own 4 or 5 K2CDs and to my ears they all
sound excellent except the Cat Stevens which varies
in sound quality from song to song.

3. K2CD "Kind of Blue" and "Hell Freezes Over" are the best
versions I've heard on CD. I've owned many versions of
both.

4. I generally like HDCD as well. I'm using a Berkeley DAC2
which seems to do quite well on HDCD, maybe because the
same folks designed HDCD and the Berkeley DAC.

5. The relative value of K2HD, most cost $39.99, could be
argued no doubt and has to be determined by each
potential buyer. I'm currently giving some thought to
the new Santana Greatest Hits K2CD but the song
selection leaves a little to be desired.

6. I don't think Music Direct is intentionally trying to
mislead, I think it's simply a misunderstanding, but it
is their responsibility to describe their product
accurately. They should offer refunds to those who
thought they were purchasing HDCDs and they should
reword their listing to be accurate. Those who pointed
out this problem to Music Direct did the right thing,
they may not even realize that a problem exists. Their
reaction will tell a lot about them.

7. I have done business with Music Direct and never had a
problem.

I just compared the Sony K2HD Kind of Blue to the 50th Anniversity remaster Columbia. The K2HD has higher gain so you need to volume match. I think the Columbia remaster is just as good at 1/4 the price. I did email Music Direct for a ra#. I'll see what happens as they do not do refunds on music. I'm not here to bad mouth Music Direct. I just wish that these recordings were HDCD as advertised. These recodings are not cheap. $39.99 each.

FWIW I own many K2's including the Kind of Blue you mention and I find them to be uniformly excellent. Consistently amongst the best recorded cd's I have heard. HDCD or not they are well worth seeking out.

I sent customer service an email about the situation. Let's see if they correct it. They have a lot of K2 HD CDs labeled at HDCD.

On Music Direct's site this cd is advertisted as being HDCD. I agree that Music Direct is being careless than deceptive. I should have done more research before ordering as I also ordered Dave Brubect's Time Out.
Live and learn I guess...

Dtc is correct. I have 2 of those CDs that I also bought from Music Direct and neither of those light up my HDCD light. They are still good quality CDs so I'm not going to bad mouth them. If your looking for HDCD's try Reference Recordings dot com. I bought several from them and they are truely great sounding CDs. Plenty of used HDCDs on eBay as well. You can find a partial list of HDCDs here at Goodwinshighend dot com. There are many more of them on the market than listed. And I have also come across several of my discs that are HDCD encoded but nothing was mentioned on the CD or sleeve. Always a pleasant surprise.

Now you're catching on. You could go broke with this hobby. For some it's more of a religion. I just myself compared some CDs same performance, different master. Which is better or worse? Hard to tell when switching over from one to another. Musical memory is short and vague. Many times the most expensive remaster is just that, expensive. And not much of an improvement.

Most K2 HD CDs are not HDCD encoded. I looked at the picture of the CD on Music Direct and it does not look like the CD is actually labelled as HDCD. It is labled as K2 HD with CD separate from the HD. That is typical for K2 HD CDs. I think you have a case to call Music Direct and tell them that this is not a HDCD and even get your money back.

If you look at the same CD on Acoustic Sounds it is listed as K2 HD CD with no mention of HDCD encoding.

I would like to think that this is Music Direct being careless rather than deliberately deceptive.

Which is the best media version of Blue that you have heard/

Are you blaming the cd or the Cary CD player? Do other CD's that are HDCD encoded play without issue? Try unplugging wait 30 seconds and plug back in. CD lense cleaner may help.