Good to read that from someone who doesn't live in PAL land Dave.
I watched my R2 extended Gladiator yesterday, didn't notice anything wrong with the sound, not that I would have noticed even if there was a sign on screen saying SOUND DISTORTION IMMINENT!
My imagination or was the PQ better than previous editions? I always remember Gladiator being slightly grainy, even at the cinema, the new copy looked perfect to my eyes, as good as new.