Regarding final bit depths, I find that the HDCDs which do NOT use peak extension, and which are highly compressed/limited, so far always decode to '17 bit' files , reduced by 6 dB (examples: Beck and Van Halen HDCDs). THose that use peak extend decode to 20 bit files (e.g. Yes, Joni Mitchell), though some that have no apparent peak extension, but are not super compressed dynamically, also decode to 20 bit files (e.g. King Crimson), with lesser amounts of level reduction. see this post for examples. You're right. I have the japanese HDCD release of Malmsteen's Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra. Here is the output of the hdcd.exe:D:\>hdcd.exe -o track08.wav 08_-_Track08.wav HDCD Detected Features Used: Peak extend : Not enabled Minimum gain : 0.0dB Maximum gain : 0.0dB D:\> The Audition says that the actual bit depth of decoded wav is 17 bits, and the peak is -6.01 dB. This is the same for all tracks on the CD. From what I've read (e.g. John Marks' self-interview about his HDCD releases) it appears that the HDCD A/D converter adds the flag that will activate the HDCD logo even if NONE of the processing options are used during the mastering...in other words, if 'HDCD' technology us just used for its high-quality A/D conversion. So WMP would light up the HDCD logo, but simply attenuate these by 6 dB, as it does for all input when the 24 bit option is active (I recall this being a mandate from Pacific Microsonics originally). When I play this CD in WMP11 without 24 bit playback enabled, I see the HDCD logo. But when I enable 24 bit playback (as it should be), the logo doesn't show up.