what are gold cd's

There is no magic in the fact they are gold. Usually its intended to designated a premium CD with better mastering and transfer. MFSL, for example, used to do the half speed masters on LPs for audiophiles. They now produce gold CDs that have better production quality. I've bought a number, and all the ones I have sound distinctly better than the garden variety version of the same album.

One other advantage is the std aluminum disc will oxidize or time....lots of time but the gold disc claims that it won't. Other than audible differences your great great great grandchildren will appreciate your investment. If they find that old cd player you had and can find a 110 power source to play them.

thanks for the help. am i correct in assuming that they are comparable to a hdcd?

A gimmick, mostly. It's the same old Redbook. No they are not comparable to HDCD, unless they happen to be HDCD. And oxidation is a nonissue.

Edesilva got it right--High-end producers use gold to signify their better products. But the disks aren't better because they're "gold." They're better because they're well-made/mastered.

Gold is infinitely malliable so it has nice plating or foiling ability. Also it should have a longer shelf life. But I got no objective data.