Remastered CDs, HDCDs, SACDs

My experience has been that downloading from Quobuz the music from various things I have as CD tends to guarantee a better master than some original CD's in my collection. This downloaded material is then recorded to CD on my computer for playback in my stereo system.

In my experience, the recording and mastering engineers often have more influence on the final sound than format. SACDs definitely benefit from higher resolution but I’ve heard plenty of CDs that sound just as sublime.

A great recording engineer captures not just detail, but atmosphere and intention. And a skilled mastering engineer knows how to bring that to the forefront without over-processing or compromising dynamics. Even subtle choices—like a 2 dB lift at 150 Hz—can completely shift how a piece of music feels.

At the end of the day, it’s not just the format that matters, it’s the human decisions behind the console that shape the emotional and tonal identity of a recording.

@bolong That's interesting! Thanks for sharing.

@lalitk Yes! Agree 100%.

You can only do so much with a re-masterd CD.  You can put some fine level of EQ etc. on the mix but that's about it.  I think Bob Ludwig and my favorite mastering engineer Bernie Grundman do a wonderful job.  The key would be to re-mix the original tapes or digital pro tools source where you could edit each individual track.  This really isn't allowed by the the artists.  However, some of the Beatles re-mixes by Giles Martin are very good.