Why HDCD did not become a dominant format?

Dbphd,I will.

I've just listened to the NS9100ES again in my system.
I found it better than the Toshiba SD9200. More detail,faster & more dynamic as well.
I had not matched power cords when I previously listened
to it, which was a mistake on my part.
Although it's unquestionably better, I think I'll wait a bit for a move to a Sony XA9000ES or Lexicon RT20.
I was not able to audition the XA9000ES at home as it sold; but I believe it must be a fair amount better. It was impressive through a pair of JMLabs speakers.

I guess I may be in the minority here, but as much as l like the sound of HDCD discs played on my Arcam CD23, in my system the 96/24 DAD discs I own sound even better played on my humble Sony DVP-C600D DVD player via it's analog outputs. One listen to Alan Parson's "I Robot' on Classic Records DAD will make you a believer.

With the mass-adoption of the DVD format soon after it's introduction, I will never understand why stereo 96/24 never caught on as the next logical step beyond redbook CD for music. I mean, originally, the term "DVD" stood for "Digital Versatile Disc", not "Digital Video Disc". Meaning, it should have been developed as a high-resolution stereo audio format as well as for the dominant movie format.

"With the mass-adoption of the DVD format soon after it's introduction, I will never understand why stereo 96/24 never caught on as the next logical step beyond redbook CD for music. I mean, originally, the term "DVD" stood for "Digital Versatile Disc", not "Digital Video Disc". Meaning, it should have been developed as a high-resolution stereo audio format as well as for the dominant movie format."

What John z said !! Seems like the most sensible way things should have gone !!

John z, I'm with you on that.
Digital music has certainly been confounding.