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Is there a way for iTunes to show me which albums have HDCD encoding?


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I think not, since it is incapable of recognizing or ripping such a CD.  If you ripped it on a PC using JDPoweramp or whateverthefuckitiscalled (with the plugin), then it will need to be 24 bit (to accommodate the 20 bittiness of the unfolded files).

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6 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

so iTunes is ripping a Redbook portion of the CD when I rip an HDCD?

The HDCD code is in the LSB of the audio data, so any ripping software will capture it. There are programs that will decode it, but iTunes isn't one of them. If you have such files, they can be decoded without re-ripping the CD.

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I only have one such example, and nothing special appears in iTunes get info, or using the afinfo command, i.e.,

 

afinfo Grateful\ Dead/So\ Glad\ You\ Made\ it_\ \ Spring\ 1990/1-06\ Loser.m4a
File:           Grateful Dead/So Glad You Made it_  Spring 1990/1-06 Loser.m4a
File type ID:   m4af
Num Tracks:     1
----
Data format:     2 ch,  44100 Hz, 'alac' (0x00000001) from 16-bit source, 4096 frames/packet
Channel layout: Stereo (L R)
estimated duration: 451.213333 sec
audio bytes: 50355151
audio packets: 4859
bit rate: 892617 bits per second
packet size upper bound: 13373
maximum packet size: 13373
audio data file offset: 335505
optimized
audio 19898508 valid frames + 0 priming + 3956 remainder = 19902464
source bit depth: I16
Loudness Info:
    sound check info                 :
        sc ave perceived power coeff     : "1251 1356"
        sc max perceived power coeff     : "13925 17154"
        sc peak amplitude msec           : "119419 169830"
        sc max perceived power msec      : "336085 78831"
        sc peak amplitude                : "31655 31658"


sound check volume normalization gain: -1.00 dB
----

 

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Bill:  I'm not sure whether afinfo reads all the tags in a music file, or only the predefined list of tags recognized by Core Audio.  It would be interesting to see whether a tag editor program like Kid3 shows tags ignored by afinfo.

HQPlayer (on 3.8 GHz 8-core i7 iMac 2020) > NAA (on 2012 Mac Mini i7) > RME ADI-2 v2 > Benchmark AHB-2 > Thiel 3.7

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The CDs were all ripped with iTunes

 

Some are Neil Young, or others said to use HDCD; most are various Grateful Dead releases, Dicks Picks, a couple of Dave's Picks, other live releases and I've heard they used it on some of the "regular" releases too.

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The answer is no. iTunes won't show or tell you if the album is HDCD-encoded. In fact, I'm not sure if any Mac app will. 

 

On the Windows side, foobar2000 will tell you. But even then, decoding HDCD really only makes sense if the HDCD album used the peak-extension feature of HDCD encoding, which most don't.

 

There's a Windows app called hdcd.exe that will actually do the decoding - decode the HDCD data into a 20-bit file, and then pad it with 4 bits of zeros to make a 24-bit file (since most apps and DACs can't play a 20-bit file).

 

I think I have only 2 HDCDs with peak-extension: The Euro version of the 1995 Jimi Hendrix Ultimate Experience compilation; and Lucinda Williams' album Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Joni Mitchell's Hejira CD exists in an HDCD version, but I can't remember if it uses peak extension.

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afinfo reads more than just tags, as you can see from the output above. 

 

There are lots of HDCDs out there, at least if you're a Deadhead. They've released every Grateful Dead album for quite some time in HDCD; which is pretty ridiculous, since hardly any devices can play them back any more. Even Oppe has dropped HDCD support. 

I write about Macs, music, and more at Kirkville.

Author of Take Control of macOS Media Apps

Co-host of The Next Track podcast.

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