I'm not sure of the future of this format with DVD-Audio and SACD formats hitting the market now. My question is then, is it worth considering a receiver that has HDCD decoding? I see many good receivers that do not have it. IMO, I don't think it's a "must have." With the newer multi-channel discs comming out, unless you have a large HDCD collection (and who does), I don't think it makes much of a difference. Of course it can't hurt just so you have most of your bases covered. I was wondering what anyone else thinks about this.
I was surprised to realize that about one CD out of every 15 or so I have is HDCD. I have noticed a difference in how they sound -- the HDCD disks sound great when decoded, and not quite as good when not decoded. I had a few CD's I was quite impressed by before I knew they were HDCD so I think it's not just my imagination.
That said, since a lot of receivers are now "24-bit" I don't know if that means that they pretty much automatically get the extra details of an HDCD disk or not. Anyone else know?