Gold discs??

[wtrimble]

Anyone know what the deal is with Gold Discs?

There's a guy in my area selling Pink Floyd's The Wall on Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs Gold Ultra Discs for $50.

I've never heard of a Gold Disc before. Anyone have any information on Gold Discs , and whether the have a superior sound quality than regular cds? (I'm guesing they do not)

 

[fuzz092888]

Snake Oil. AFAIK the gold discs touted that it was more reflective than aluminum and that this caused them to have superior sound quality. While gold is more reflective than aluminum, the differences are negligible. The real advantage of gold is that is easier to work with in the sense that it is easier to layer (or so I read) and it is more resistant to corrosion and other imperfections developing over time. I believe I also read that MFSL never produced CD's of both types so direct comparisons weren't possible.

 

[slipperybidness]

I had a few about a decade ago. I can't say that they really sounded any better, certainly didn't sound worse.

From a collector's standpoint, they are kind of neat. I think they might be worth collecting and the prices on some of these tells me that others feel the same. If you just looking to collect something that you don't see everyday, then go for it and $50 sounds about right. If you are looking for a vastly superior CD, then you will most likely be disappointed.

For reference, back when I did see these in the stores, they did sell for about double what a standard CD would be, about $25 to $30.

 

[j_garcia]

The only thing I know about gold discs is that the media itself is supposed to last longer than standard (aka: cheaper) media. Aside from that, there is NO audio benefit.

 

[markw]

I've got a few simpl because that's the only ones DCC (Digital Compact Classics) released. As to how they sound, they do sound better than the original CD but that's not because they are gold: It's because Steve Hoffman remastered the music on them for DCC.

So, if you want the DCC remaster, you gotta get the gold disc.

But, IMNSHO, the gold doesn't add anything to the sound over the basic aluminum.

 

[Rickster71]

At work we used to archive stuff on gold DVD. I remember having Pink Floyd Dark Side on a gold CD.
Archiving valuable data that had to be on separate media seems to be where it has the most benefit.

Just to add a bit to what was already mentioned:
Here is some info - Gold Archival CD/DVD Media
The gold is non-corrosive and claimed to last substantially longer than aluminum.
Over time, aluminum was said to react with the plastic and glue of the CD.

 

[Irvrobinson]

The gold aspect of Mobile Fidelity discs is a marketing gimmick, just to make them look different IMO, but the sound quality of their CDs from the high quality remastering is often quite remarkable, with a very audible improvement over the original releases.

 

[j_garcia]

IMO, it isn't a marketing gimmick. They did it for the reasons Mark gave - the disc will live a longer life, and I am sure they don't claim sonic benefits for the gold discs. Since the gold is less reactive, it will not delaminate as soon as other metal coatings, though aluminum plated discs will already last quite a long time.

 

[3db]

IMO, it isn't a marketing gimmick. They did it for the reasons Mark gave - the disc will live a longer life, and I am sure they don't claim sonic benefits for the gold discs. Since the gold is less reactive, it will not delaminate as soon as other metal coatings, though aluminum plated discs will already last quite a long time.

Have you experienced any purchased CDs that have worn out? I haven't as of yet.

 

[Irvrobinson]

Have you experienced any purchased CDs that have worn out? I haven't as of yet.

Me either, that's why I think the gold is a gimmick, and I have many CDs from the 1980s.

 

[j_garcia]

Have you experienced any purchased CDs that have worn out? I haven't as of yet.

I have had a few SACDs delaminate, but those were defects acknowledged by Universal. Regular CDs, I have yet to have one to fail.

 

[saywhat]

The gold disc longevity issue is more for burned disc like you or I would burn on our computers cd-r drive. The disc that a manufacture puts out are pressed and thus should last much longer anyway, gold or aluminum.
That said they do look neat and the gold disc I own were supposedly pressed from better sources. I have pink floyd wish you were here gold disc it says super bit mapped by sony. It also says and I quote "Master Sound Edition: Each master sound disc is guaranteed to have been manufactured from the first generation of master tapes, actual session work tapes, or other original recording sources available."

A different companies Gold Disc I have David Bowie Hunky Dory is a AU20 Gold Disc. Apparently comes from original 20bit digital masters and noise shaped from 20 bit to 16 bit and replicated on Gold Disc for audiophile editions. These disc have more info on how they are also Sony Super Bit Mapped as well.

So as for sounding better yeah I guess you could say they do as they went to more trouble to get better quality source material and clean it up and make sure its as digitally pure as possible.