K2 HDCD Recordings

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...