Amazing XRCD I just purchased....

As far as I've been able to tell, the K2s and XRCDs are using the same masters, so they ought to sound very similar. I think the distinction is mostly a marketing one. K2s you can find in any music store, and they are priced for the masses. XRCDs are available only through specialty audiophile outlets, where they can command a premium. (Now, what does that say about audiophiles?)

I would guess that the manufacturing differences would be very slight. CDs aren't like LPs, where the kind of vinyl you use and the care you take can make a major difference in the sound. (Which is why foreign pressings of LPs often sound much better than domestics, even using the same master tape.) For CDs, the real difference is in the mastering, and I cannot imagine that JVC wastes its time making two different masters, one for its own XRCDs and one to license back to Fantasy.