Is it worth it?

Early B.

Is it worth spending the extra $$ for gold CDs and XRCDs?

For those of you who have gold CDs and XRCDs, do you generally prefer to listen to those recordings over some of your favorite redbook CDs just because of the improved SQ?

I just got rid of a few of my HDCDs. They sound good, but not good enough for me to reach for them just because the sound good. In fact, some of my redbooks sound even better, IMO. The HDCDs can appear slightly bright, at times. Just wondering what other folks' experiences have been.

Thanks.

TroyD

In most, but not all, cases I would say yes.

Again, if you are going through the expense of good gear and speakers, what's a couple of bucks for a better recording??

BDT

dkg999

I agree with TroyD! I have been picking up a few MFSL, DCC, etc. CD's off of eBay and for the most part they seem to be better mastered, and the SQ is better overall. Are they worth the $25 to $45 vs. the price of a regular CD? I wouldn't replace all my CD's where a gold CD, etc. was availabe. For some of my favorites like Supertramp, Traffic, Patricia Barber, etc, I can justify spending the money on them. I have found that they have a much bigger impact on SQ in my main 2 ch system with my Magnepan's than they do on my bedroom system with a NAD C720BEE/C521BEE receiver/cdp and Epos ELS-3 speakers.

fredv

Interesting question. In my recent trip to HK, I purchased 3 CD's of the same album of a Taiwanese singer who died 11 years ago. The original album (vinyl) was released 20+ years ago. The CD's were all quoted "remastered", in HK $$:
- "vinyl" reprod version (can't think of better translation) = $49
- DSD version = $99
- XRCD version = $330
I compared the SQ of all three productions - the quality is in the same ordering of the prices. The $49 sounds like something put together to the market for the boom boxes. The DSD was quite a jump in SQ, comparing to the el cheapo. Even though it doubles the price, I would buy and listen to the DSD. Comparing to the DSD, the XRCD provides more detail and smoother tone transition - not a big different; nevertheless, it is noticeable.

I am not sure the typical extra cost of XRCD recording here, but for this particular one, at more than 3 times of the DSD for "this much" better, I will have to think twice. However, if the additional cost is within 20%, it will be a no brainer to go for the XRCD.

And the answer to the question, yes, I do prefer to listen to the XRCD :-)

Early B.

Ordered a handful of mastered CDs today. A couple of gold ones, too. Didn't spend too much. Just wanna try 'em out. I'll report back.

Tour2ma

I've got a handful of MFSL golds. I have yet to be disappointed by one.

At the time when I bought it, MFSL's re-issue of The Who's Tommy (on one gold disk) was actually more economical than the redbook, 2-disk CD.

Overall though, who oversaw the remastering is a bigger factor than the color of the disk.

Early B.

I received an order of "cheap" mastered CDs from www.dccblowout.com. I wanted to experiment with better quality CDs without plunking down some fat cash. I ordered 6 CDs, although most of them were like $1.99 or $2.99. I bought three 70's and 80's compilation CDs. Popped them into the CDP and was very impressed with the sound. Natural instruments, great bass. Makes the listening experience much more exciting. If they weren't mastered, I would have never considered purchasing these CDs.

Wasn't perfect 'cause the vocals were recessed on most of the cuts, some being better than others. However, generally speaking, the mastered CDs sounded much better than redbook CDs and a notch above the typical "digitally remastered" stuff you find elsewhere. The dccblowout website and a few others are worth checking out. Of course, the selection is very limited. Nevertheless, based on this experience, I will continue to look for CDs that have been specially mastered.