Taming edge from remastered CDs?

You might consider getting a 2d CDP, one with tubes, to use with the brighter (remasters?) CD's. Then put some soft toned tubes in it. Works for me. :-)

Newbee, that's a priceless answer!

I have never found this to be the case. I believe it is because you either did not use a CD burner and media that achieves the lowest jitter, or you have other sibilant components in your system, such as your CD transport, cables or preamp. Sometimes, when the source is cleaned-up, it aggravates other problems in the system.

Try a Plextor writer and good media such as Mitsui Audio Master disks. Clean the blanks with a quality cleaner/treatment before burning them.

If this does not work, then I recommend a reclocker for the digital signal feeding a good DAC, such as the Metrum Octave.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I second Elizabeths suggestion to burn a cd-r from the cd's and try that.
It's the cheapest test and involves exactly zero changes to your system. I now do this with almost all of the cd's I like. They sound better than the factory discs in every case I've tried so far. I did a blind swap with a friend with very good ears: a/b'd the factory disc and a burned disc (played one song- then played the same song back to back) and in 4 cases he was able to identify the copy as the better sounding disc.

I agree with many of these comments. I often find remastered rock CD's do have more detail at the expense of being edgy. My friend brought over the recent remaster of The Stones' "Exile on Main Street." We both found it hard to listen to. I pulled out a vintage CD of the same album to play. No comparison. The older CD was MUCH better. Smooth highs and a broader sound stage. I also found this with a couple of Alejandro Escovedo remasters.