I listened to the Tony Bennett/Bill Evans XRCD on my Richard Kern-modified SCD333ES SACD player, which certainly holds it own on redbook playback. (This is my only XRCD listening I've done.) I was struck by the analog sound, very rich; the warmth and emotion of Bennett's voice and Evans' piano really comes through... took me back to days when I had a VPI turntable. Never heard anything else like it on CD/SACD. However, I prefer the sound of the better SACD's, e.g., the Patricia Barber SACD's from Mobile Fidelity, and several other SACD's, too. The detail, imaging, and dynamics are outstanding. But I sure can understand why you might prefer the sound of some of the XRCD's.
XRCD vs. SACD
Having listened to several JVC xrcd's on some state of the art redbook gear, I am of the opinion that most that I have heard sound more natural to me than SACD on a budget Sony SACD player. I have not, however, listened to any higher-end SACD players in my system. I would be very interested to hear from those who have made this comparison and can provide some input with regard to how the XRCDs compare.