JVC XRCD CDs, are they worth the extra cash?

Yes. Even compared to the limited edition gold RCA Living Stereo CDs, the JVCs are warmer, richer, and closer to the originals. In fact, their tonal balance is usually closer to the originals than were the Classic Records LP reissues. (Sometimes that's good, sometimes not.)

I have a wonderful Bill Evans XRCD (Portrait in Jazz), and sound is really more lifelike all the way around...on good gear, it's about as close to "being there" as I've heard out of redbook CDs.

XRCD's are great. They just blow away normal cd's.

I've always been skeptical of those "gold" CDs. There's no magic technology out there that makes CDs sound worlds better. The real difference is in remastering, and JVC seems to do it better than anybody else. I'll echo the Bill Evans plug, but don't miss the live albums (Waltz for Debby and Sunday at the Village Vanguard).

Also, JVC licenses its jazz (some of it, at least) from Fantasy (www.fantasyjazz.com, I think), which sells the same remasterings for a lot less than the high-end catalogs charge for XRCDs. You can even find them in record stores. Just make sure that a JVC engineer (and the K2 process) are mentioned on the back of the CD.

I love most of them as well. I also like the Analogue Productions Gold CD's.