do, mfsl, dcc or gold cds really sound better?

Generally, these are superior. However, if the master tapes are bad to start with, not much can be done to improve. I have several mofi of jazz and have yet to be disappointed when comparing directly with the redbook copy.

it depends on what you are comparing them to..if its a major label cd title, mastered and manufactured domestically,and marketed in the 1980's or early 90's the gold discs generally are an improvement...but compared to most japanese versions of the same titles,or newly remastered domestic versions, the gold discs generally fall short...mastering cd's has improved more in the last two years,than in the first 20.

If that cal player is 24/96 DVD the then the classic records DAD's are really good. rivals' SACD. titles are limited... I think classicrecords.com. Also, all the JVC xrcd's are super sounding. The source material is crucial to getting good sound. That said, mapleshade cd's sounds awesome, are they are normal aluminum cd's. go figure...

I'm a analog guy, but good cd's aren't bad :) !

They do sound much better most of the time, simply because the other available CDs with the same material do not sound as good as CDs can.

I only know their jazz reissues. DCC remastered a lot of OJC recordings (Riverside, Prestige, Contemporary, ...) which were rather poorly transfered on the original late 80's CDs. The same is true for MFSLs remasterings of Blue Note and Atlantic recordings (Blue Train, Giant steps, Night in Tunesia).

So basically MFSL and DCC did what was technically possible to restore the sound of the recordings, while the original labels did not really care about the sound.

Today, most reissue labels are much more aware of sound quality and are trying to sell remastered versions, so the difference is not as important anymore.

It is certainly not the gold surface of the CDs that made the difference :)

Well, for starters, definitely pick up some HDCD's. They sound very good. I have limited exposure to MFSL's. Two things I would state from my experience with these, they sound more "analog" if that is an appropriate description. Also, just like redbook, the quality of these is dependent upon the master.

IMO some sound great, like Blood Sweat and Tears, Tom Petty, others dissapointing.

If you haven't had the chance to check out the saving grace to the CD format, check out the JVC XRCD's. Although the others sound good these are a cut above in quality, and quality control. They will also play in a standard CDP.