I will not bother with HDCD conversion to 24 bit FLAC for the few HDCD's I have. I just find decoding FLAC to PCM in squeezecenter before streaming to the squeeze box to sound better. I tried to live with streaming FLAC but I can't. When I compare the sound from my 598 with the squeezebox clearly they sound very similar when I stream PCM. Streaming FLAC the sound stage is smaller and less dynamic and bass is not as tight. It's not a big difference but it's there.

HT: 568.2mm (Revelation One filter), 518x2, SB3, Bryston 7BSTx3, 8BST, Aerial 10T, CC3, SW12(Qty2) w/SVS AS-EQ1, MK Tripole x4. JVC RS1u, DVDO Duo, Oppo 103 w/Vanity103HD, Sony PS3, VIP 3D Theatre, Acer H5360. Logitech Ultimate Remote and Hub.