Thanks for the conciliatory note. I'm prepared to accept your technical explanations but my subjective response to HDCD remains undiminished. It should be remembered that HDCD would not have improved by very much the sonics of Intrada's complete score edition of THE DEEP. While not quite as disappointing I was very frustrated by the recent complete edition of THE BLACK HOLE. (And I say this without glee; Intrada almost always delivers the goods.) On my system I personally can hear very little difference between the much vaunted K2 HD process and previous editions (although I admit my point of comparison has been the Brubeck TIME OUT and the Miles Davis KIND OF BLUE, which were previously brought out by Legacy). If there is a complete edition of DANCES WITH WOLVES (and assuming it has a similar high quality source as the 2004 Legacy version) I'm sure it will sound superb even without HDCD. I should also mention that I use an audio expander which supposedly decompresses the signal. This may sound like voodoo hi-fi, and it was sold to me by a free-lance technician in Sydney. Whether it's valid or not, it makes an extraordinary difference with playback. Anyone wishing to contact this individual can try
dddes@bigpond.com . (His name is Des, but after 10 years I wouldn't be surprised if he can't be contacted at this address.) Sonically one of the most disappointing re-recordings I've heard is for Morricone's DANGER: DIABOLIK.