I know there is one of Bernard Herrmann's Fantasy Film World album and I think Out of Africa & Apollo 13 as well. The sound quality is supposed to be "audiophile" quality but that is due to the mastering not the gold color.

piano632, August 23, 2007; 2:26 AM

I've got the 24k gold pressing of PHANTASM that was released with the laserdisc box set: http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=25431

The sound quality is noticeably better than that of the Silva Screen CD release, although I'm not sure whether that's a result of the 24k gold pressing or of the quality of the original source recording used to master the release.

American.Nightmare, August 23, 2007; 4:25 AM

I've got two 24 karat gold discs: The "Schindler's List" Ultimate MasterDisc, and "Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold."



squiddybop, August 23, 2007; 5:31 AM

I mainly keep the DANCES WITH WOLVES gold disc (in addition to the expanded release from later on) because it includes these nicely cheesy pop versions of the main themes at the end of the CD ;-)

Regarding sound quality, I guess that piano632 has already said it all.

Urs

handstand, August 23, 2007; 6:06 AM

As for John Barry, Body Heat, Frances and High Road To China (SCSE) are Gold Discs, as well as
the special edition of Somewhere In Time (MCA).

Greetz,

David

coma, August 23, 2007; 6:34 AM

Not to mention the Exorcist CD with the DVD release including the rejected Schiffrin score .

@+

michel, August 23, 2007; 8:34 AM

A point not yet mentioned:

Yes, the sound quality actually IS better simply because 24k gold isn't as susceptible to corrosion over time as is the regular metal used in a CD.

kriegerg69, August 23, 2007; 9:48 AM

I have Donaggio's RAISING CAIN in gold... it's funny 'cause I've just found it again yesterday, while searching for something else in one of the few CD carton boxes I have... and I told to myself: "gosh, this is just ugly looking and seems to be an old Milan release"
A treasure to some, a piece of crap to others ahahah (just kidding you, Knives!) ;-)

davegaumann, August 23, 2007; 10:13 AM

> Does anyone know, is the sound quality better than standard CD's?

All other things being equal, the composition of the reflective layer (gold vs. aluminum) is irrelevant to the quality of the record.

You may notice some difference, though, from the 20 bit mastering.
...Then again, maybe not. My original album presents no technical details other than the legend ADD. What's in yours? Does it actually say anywhere it's a NEW transfer?

zuvqwyx3, August 23, 2007; 11:08 AM

One complaint about CD's that has been said ever since they first market is that they reportedly DO suffer from deterioration in sound quality, due to the corrosion that supposedly happens over time to the aluminum.

Gold doesn't suffer from the same corrosion fate as aluminum.

Therefore.....technically.....the sound quality IS better on a gold disc, which will (supposedly) never corrode as will aluminum.

kriegerg69, August 23, 2007; 2:02 PM

In place of aluminum commonly used as the reflective coating on CDs, gold is sometimes used as well which spreads out more evenly throughout the cd and since gold has a very slow oxidation rate, it provides a greater longevity to the cd.

As noted previously, the higher fidelity associated with gold CDs is actually a result of the remastering process and NOT of the gold coating itself.

Aesthetically speaking, I have to admit that gold colored cd's do look nice as well.

PS

~ Amadeus
~ Fantasy Film World Of Bernard Herrmann
~ Music From Great Film Classics, Bernard Herrmann
~ The Mysterious Film World Of Bernard Herrmann
~ The Four Faces Of Jazz, Bernard Herrmann

serifiot, August 23, 2007; 3:20 PM