In this paper, a modified equalization target is proposed for the high density magnetic recording channel. This target is a closer match to the channel than the EEPR4 response and hence has better detection performance, Based on the dominant error events for this target, a parity-based coding scheme is also proposed to achieve a coding gain with the modified target. The use of the parity code detects the occurrence of the dominant error events while achieving a high code rate. The detection system consists of a Viterbi detector matched to the channel response and a post processor to handle the code constraints. This system is shown to perform well compared to other proposed detection systems through analysis and simulation on a Lorentzian based channel model.