AudioStudies
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I for one, but likely of many, am finding HDCD a hard horse to ride in 2023. Some don't see the value in it, but I happen to like it; although I don't notice an improvement on every album when comparing the non-HDCD version with the HDCD version. I haven't found anything within the computer realm that I liked for doing the HDCD decoding prior to entering a DAC. I know some use dbPoweramp for this, but quite a bit of controversy about the best way to do it in dbPoweramp. Also, that method requires a 24 bit file, and I am keeping things at 16 bits.
So then, all that brings me back to hardware as in transports and DACs. The transport part is primarily covered by my two Aurender streamers. I use dbPoweramp to copy un-decoded HDCD discs into 16 bit WAV files. The Aurenders then send out a signal that HDCD DACs can recognize and decode. In some of my lesser systems wherein I don't have one of the Aurenders, I just use an older CD player that has HDCD.
Well that brings me to the subject of HDCD DACs, the biggest obstacle that makes HDCD a hard horse to ride in 2023. Almost no one is making new DACs with the HDCD feature. Berkeley Audio Design (BAD) is the only company that I am aware of that is still doing so. Regrettably BAD DACs are not affordable, they are now up to $10.000 for their . . . eh hum . . . entry level.
What I have been using are Enlightened Audio Designs (EAD) DACs that are about 20 years old. I use these primarily for HDCD discs and use more modern DACs for non-HDCD discs. I am looking for opinions here regarding DACs. I have seen in stated in these pages of ASR, "be wary of vintage DACs" and yet I have also seen it stated that "DACs technology was pretty much solved about 20 years ago". Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in-between those two statements.
The EAD DACs that I use are the DSP 7000 EAD models that were state of the art at the time they were made. Obviously, the clocking is no where near as advanced as a modern DAC, and the 20-bit Burr Brown chip is old by modern standards. I am trying to ascertain, how much of a problem this is, or even whether or not is a problem. I only do Redbook 16 bit 44.1. These DACs incorporated a Digital Flywheel technology that was very advanced and revolutionary for its time in an effort to reduce jitter. They sound great to me, but I confess that on most all of the non-HDCD discs, more modern DACs sound slightly better. On HDCD discs, most of the sound better after decoding on the EAD DACs than on modern DACs.
So where do I go from here? Berkeley Audio Designs made some units that are no longer in production that were a bit newer than my EAD DACs, such as the BAD Alpha DAC 2 that may or may not have had better clocking and was equipped with HDCD. I could try to find one on the used market, for closer to $2000 a lot less steep than BAD's modern offerings starting at $10,000. I welcome any and all opinions on this, including info on other DACs with HDCD that I may not be aware of that could potentially be a step upwards from my EAD DACs. Also, hoping to hear from some experts regarding how well the Digital Flywheel technology helped to eliminate jitter
So then, all that brings me back to hardware as in transports and DACs. The transport part is primarily covered by my two Aurender streamers. I use dbPoweramp to copy un-decoded HDCD discs into 16 bit WAV files. The Aurenders then send out a signal that HDCD DACs can recognize and decode. In some of my lesser systems wherein I don't have one of the Aurenders, I just use an older CD player that has HDCD.
Well that brings me to the subject of HDCD DACs, the biggest obstacle that makes HDCD a hard horse to ride in 2023. Almost no one is making new DACs with the HDCD feature. Berkeley Audio Design (BAD) is the only company that I am aware of that is still doing so. Regrettably BAD DACs are not affordable, they are now up to $10.000 for their . . . eh hum . . . entry level.
What I have been using are Enlightened Audio Designs (EAD) DACs that are about 20 years old. I use these primarily for HDCD discs and use more modern DACs for non-HDCD discs. I am looking for opinions here regarding DACs. I have seen in stated in these pages of ASR, "be wary of vintage DACs" and yet I have also seen it stated that "DACs technology was pretty much solved about 20 years ago". Perhaps the truth lies somewhere in-between those two statements.
The EAD DACs that I use are the DSP 7000 EAD models that were state of the art at the time they were made. Obviously, the clocking is no where near as advanced as a modern DAC, and the 20-bit Burr Brown chip is old by modern standards. I am trying to ascertain, how much of a problem this is, or even whether or not is a problem. I only do Redbook 16 bit 44.1. These DACs incorporated a Digital Flywheel technology that was very advanced and revolutionary for its time in an effort to reduce jitter. They sound great to me, but I confess that on most all of the non-HDCD discs, more modern DACs sound slightly better. On HDCD discs, most of the sound better after decoding on the EAD DACs than on modern DACs.
So where do I go from here? Berkeley Audio Designs made some units that are no longer in production that were a bit newer than my EAD DACs, such as the BAD Alpha DAC 2 that may or may not have had better clocking and was equipped with HDCD. I could try to find one on the used market, for closer to $2000 a lot less steep than BAD's modern offerings starting at $10,000. I welcome any and all opinions on this, including info on other DACs with HDCD that I may not be aware of that could potentially be a step upwards from my EAD DACs. Also, hoping to hear from some experts regarding how well the Digital Flywheel technology helped to eliminate jitter