"Audiophile" CD's

[counterofbeans]

I have a few MFSL CD's - I'm not sure they sound any better than ordinary CD's or if it's just wishful thinking given how much they cost...

What do others think? Any good results or recommendations?

Thanks

CofB

[belleair302]

What are you playing them through?

[counterofbeans]

belleair302 said:

What are you playing them through?

Roksan Caspian M2 cd
Arcam C30 pre
Arcam P35 power x2
B&W CM4

CofB

[clived]

Why don't you just buy the "normal" version of one or two from Amazon and this time tomorrow you can be doing your own comparison

They should sound different as they are of course mastered differently. As to the benefit of the gold CD itself, I'm yet to be convinced.

[counterofbeans]

clived said:

Why don't you just buy the "normal" version of one or two from Amazon and this time tomorrow you can be doing your own comparison

They should sound different as they are of course mastered differently. As to the benefit of the gold CD itself, I'm yet to be convinced.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I do think they sound better, I just wondered what others thought, and if there are any other ranges of "audiophile" cd's other than MFSL which people might recommend.

CofB

[900T-R]

I'm afraid none of the audiophile 'repertoire' appeals to me, so I can't give you an answer to that.

I can say, however, that a lot of original '70s and '80s vinyl (and some cd) issues beat the cr*p out of recent remastered ones being foisted upon us - case in point pretty much the entire Kraftwerk catalogue.

[belleair302]

I have listened to a fair few SA CD's and been impressed with the richness of sound and purer clarity especially on pure vocals, but it does depend upon the player, amp and speakers. Would I buy SACD's often, no as they are impossible to find and the catalogue is tiny. I just wish streaming gave us a less compressed signal.

[probedb]

clived said:

They should sound different as they are of course mastered differently. As to the benefit of the gold CD itself, I'm yet to be convinced.

Indeed, to properly compare you need the same master on both discs. I'm not sure what difference the material would make, they both have to conform to red book standards. I dunno, maybe one material is less prone to error resistance or with a particularly tuned laser in a player can read more accurately, but if you heard a difference there'd be something seriously wrong with the disc.