Doors Complete Studio Box: Not All Titles HDCD?

I purchased The Doors Complete Studio Recordings boxset during the recent BMG no shipping sale for $39.99 shipped, couldn't pass it up at that price. First things first, unlike other BMG cds and boxsets I've gotten over the years this boxset doesn't have the BMG stamp on the UPC code or any of the cds or covers. I couldn't find evidence of this being any different than what you buy in the store, I know as I looked at the boxset at Best Buy today on my way home. As a side note, I picked up the Motley Crue first 4 cds boxset at the same time from BMG and it doesn't have the usual BMG stamps either.

Now to the point of this post...the copies of Waiting For The Sun and The Soft Parade in my boxset are not HDCD encoded, the rest are. Is this normal? Anyone else who happened to pick up the boxset from the recent BMG sale notice this? How about anyone who purchased this at a store? I talking about the longbox format by the way. Should I try to return it and get a replacement box? BMG is usually pretty good about exchanges. They once sent me two wrong cds, I emailed them and they told me to keep the wrong titles and went ahead and sent me my choices as well.

Thanks for any input.

Take care,
Brett

 

They are HDCD encoded on my copies...

 

And on mine!!

 

My box set (cube style) was purchased through BMG or Columbia House (I can't remember which club), and mine are all HDCD encoded. I'd question BMG about it!

 

I wondering now if it's the latter. As far as I can tell, they are not old stock. I'm going to contact BMG and see what they say. Thanks all for the help.

Take care,
Brett

 

Does Soft Parade have the red Elektra label?
That is the HDCD version right- it's the only version w/ th red Elektra label.
I have the individual CD of Soft Parade from BMG so I can post what the inner ring #'s are if it any help.

 

Yes, it's the red label.

I use my Harmon Kardon AVR-520 to decode HDCD, and it's worked perfectly on every HDCD that I have. I wonder, if for some reason, it's having problems decoding those two discs of the boxset. It's the only HDCD decoder I have, so I can't test these discs on another system. Does anyone know of a way I can find out for sure if these discs are HDCD?

Bartels can I have those inner ring #'s to compare to my disc?

Thanks,
Brett

 

Brett,
Have you tried every song on both CDs? The HDCD codes are in the data stream throughout every track on an HDCD encoded disc, so even if you skip to a specific track the HDCD indicator light should illuminate. If the indicator doesn't light on ANY track you can be fairly certain that the CDs are not HDCD encoded..

 

I am not sure what kind of answer you are going to get from BMG regarding HDCD discs, and whether the two discs you mention should or should not be HDCD. My discs are HDCD, but they are from the original cube bought at retail on day of release.

I believe the only thing BMG will do is send you a new boxset, yet if those discs are not HDCD either I am not sure what you can do?? As was mentioned in this thread elsewhere, BMG will sometimes send out replacements for sets that are identical to what you might have gotten "wrong" in the first place. Case in point, I purchased a James Brown "Live at the Apollo" Deluxe edition from BMG and it came without a booklet. I was sent a replacement, again without a booklet. I tried one more time, and again I got a replacement without a booklet. I gave up after that (as the music is what counts the most - right!). Since BMG never had me send back any of the sets I received, I sold two of them and basically broke even (if not better).

 

They are very good at that. It costs them more to pay for the return!

 

For a backwards example of this. There are Joni Mitchell BMG titles that have no indication on the artwork of disc that they are HDCD or remastered but when you put it in your CD player it will light up HDCD.

 

There are actually MANY so called "stealth" HDCD discs. My favorite is The Last Waltz box set. I believe there is a royalty payment required to use the HDCD symbol on the CD label or artwork. Using the Pacific Microsonics Model One or Two, if the mastering house has them, doesn't require a royalty payment as I understand it. It is only the advertising of HDCD using the symbol that requires the royalty.

 

In regards to "stealth HDCD's", if I recall correctly, just using the Pacific Microsonics A/D converter will sometimes result in a CD causing the HDCD light to come on, even if the HDCD encoding aspect of the converter wasn't used.

 

I don't have the Studio Box, but I have the 1999 remasters for Strange Days, Morrison Hotel, and Soft Parade. The HDCD indicator on my CD player does not light up for Soft Parade but it does for the other two titles. Also, the overall volume levels for Soft Parade are much lower than Strange Days and MH. I should dig up my old 80s version of Soft Parade and a/b it against the "remastered" 1999 version. I suspect they are the same mastering. I don't play Soft Parade very much so I did not really notice a difference in mastering when I played the 1999 version, like I did with the other two titles.

 

I was only partially incorrect. It says on the HDCD web site that to have the HDCD logo on a piece of audio equipment is based upon an OEM license agreement.

I guess labels leaving the HDCD logo off of their CDs (and associated artwork) is just because of stupidity, not because they do not want to pay a fee.

I stand corrected and apologize for thinking that labels are cheap for not using the logo. I now think they are stupid, not cheap.

 

Ah, perhaps I recall incorrectly. A brief research session amongst a pile of past issues of TAS, turned up nada, so I concede to your knowledge base(d on experience).

 

I don't have the box set. I have the Japanese mini-LP sleeved Doors CDs. They are all HDCD encoded.

 

Alright Brett. I plugged in my Soft Parade that I got from BMG and my Windows Player says HDCD (whew!).
The inner ring says:
Y21039 9 D 100212-2 01 MOS1

 

Well, waddya know? I found the source of my previous recollection. I did read it first in TAS, an interview with John Marks, of John Marks Records. The particular bit about HDCD can now be found at www.jmrcds.com, and I quote a portion here:

"Another option, the one we chose for Music for a Glass Bead Game, is to take a hi-bit digital source, such as from a Nagra D, and use the Pacific Microsonics HDCD box only to re-dither it to 16 bits. This use of the Pacific Microsonics box puts the HDCD flag in the digital word that triggers the light to go on, on an HDCD-capable player or converter. But the light going on does not necessarily mean that the original recording was made using the Pacific Microsonics HDCD box as the analog to digital converter, or that processing was used to try to stretch dynamics beyond conventional 16-bit CDs."

"I'm not all the way crazy" - Jesco

 

When I had the boxset, both those were HDCD. I now have them in jewel cases. Just checked in WMP, they are also HDCD.