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Gold CDs ...... too much?

Are everyone's experiences with gold CD's (including MFSL CDs) positive? I just received a mint copy via Ebay of Steely Dan's Aja on MFSL Gold CD and something's just not right. Perhaps it's the fact that I've listened to this record (and CD) for almost 30 years now and this is the first time I've heard it on my new system, but here's what I hear.
There is almost too much resolution. Imagine how when you are using your digital picture software and you're using the "sharpness" adjust to modify a picture, and the picture almost becomes surreal, and too "brittle"? That's what I hear on the Aja Gold disk. Things are just too "bright", "brittle", too "much" of everything. It kind of reminds me of the complaints people used to have of CDs when the first hit the market. Sure it sounded clean & everything, but it just didn't sound natural.
Your thoughts??
tgyeti
rcprince
3,068 posts
 
I don't think you should lay the blame entirely on the fact that it's a gold CD. While I think that in general the gold CDs do seem to have a touch more resolution vs. standard CDs, remember that Mobile Fidelity does not necessarily try to duplicate the original record when they do their re-issues. I recall reading that on one of the Steely Dan albums (Gaucho, I believe) Mofi discovered a lot more bass on one of the tracks than was on the commercial recording, so they kept it in; apparently, the artists had intentionally kept the extra bass out of the mix because they felt it sounded better. So it's quite possible that a lot of what you're hearing, while perhaps from the master tape, had gotten EQ'd out when the original final production record was released.
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
The MFSL LP also sounded funny, as if it was mastered too bright as well, so I think it is more this particular release, rather than gold CDs in general.

My opinion is that some of the gold CDs are well worth it. However, there are some that are definitely not worth it. I would say most are worth the extra cost.
(But as Meisterkleef says "not sure I would pay the crazy prices" either!)

My two cents worth anyway.
spiro
115 posts
 
I've enjoyed PF Metal, Dark Side; Sting, Nothing Like the sun; Steely Dan, Box set; some "miles", "Sonny rollins" and others.
The only remastered disk that I found to be "too honest" was the Sonny
Rollins "Plus 4" as in SACD mode it shows the tape saturation/distortion
too
clearly. I may have about 50 "golds" and I've found all of them to be an
improvement. The above member's above comments are very very valid,
if the remastering lab is not sticking to the origional tonal balance
you may not like
them equally to the origional. It's artistry not science in some cases.
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johnbonham1969
10 posts
 
I had something like that happen to me.
I bought the RUSH-Signals MFSL Gold CD,
AND in the song: The Weapon,
the second chorus IS MISSING!
"And the things that we fear" Line was gone!
It`s in the Original version that came out shortly after
CD`S came out in 84-85.
It`s in the new RE-Mastered series.
Why that line was left out, I don`t know.
IT WAS throwing me off EVERYTIME that I played
my drums along with the CD.
My original version, which was the 3rd.
CD that I ever bought, had a scratch on it,
SO, I bought the Gold CD.
Not to my liking, I sold that CD, and got the
RE-Mastered one in 1999. I Guess they went off a DIFFERENT Master Tape? MAYBE, that`s what happened
with your S.D. cd.
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