A very good question. Some remasters are better, but often the best original pressings are where the gold lies!

This varies due to many technical and other factors, but remastered records are often worse than good original pressings, and in my experience, only very occasionally better.

A Golden Example

A classic example of a good remaster being beaten by an even better original pressing can be found with one of my favourite records, New Gold Dream, by Simple Minds:

Here are two of my three copies of this great album. The one on the right is a rare gold and purple-coloured first release I purchased new and unopened from Japan. It appears to be nothing special apart from the gorgeous coloured vinyl. It’s a regular thin pressing, but it’s dead flat, very quiet, and from the year the album was recorded, or perhaps 1983, a year later, I’ll check that.

The copy on the left is a recent (a couple of years old, I can’t recall) Abbey Road 1/2 speed mastered 180g ultra-hi-fi pressing that I purchased directly from Abbey Road. It is also a beautiful pressing: dead flat, concentric, quiet, and with great dynamics.

Here’s the rub: the original limited gold and purple edition from 40 years ago sounds better. This has been verified by several friends in my reference system. The early, thin pressing is quieter, has better dynamics, more air and detail, and more punch. Who knew that older things could be bett… Oh, that’s right, I’ve been telling you this for years!

Age

Here’s what we know about analog recordings made on tape (as almost all analog recordings are): they offer the highest resolution of any medium, but deteriorate over time. The very best versions of the masters, mix-down masters, sub-masters and various analogs that make their way to the record pressing facilities are the ones made as close to when the original analog recordings were made.

What this means for records is that the early ones or those closest to the recording are often the best, all other things being equal. Better still, you want an early pressing from one of the first stampers made from the first mother – the moulds used to create the moulds used to press records. That’s because the moulds deteriorate every time they are used and the original master recording deteriorates from the moment they are made and every time they are played.

Add to this the fact that record plants, equipment, technicians and the people who operate the tape machines were all at their peak years ago, not right now, and the tendency for remasters to be produced too hot and you have a combination that renders modern remasters often disappointing. Don’t just take my word for it though, you can read more about this in many great articles online, like this good primer for example.

The Bottom Line

All that said, if you get the right album, remastered by the right engineer, in the right studio, with really good, intact analog masters as closely as possible to the originals, with good quality, clean vinyl that’s been well pressed, thick and flat, remasters can sometimes sound better than the originals, or at least as good. The problem is, there are not enough like this!