Classic rock: best remasters

"According to the official dynamic range data base a great deal of the reissues of classic rock recordings are aggressively compressed. "

That may well be the case, but I agree with Phasecorrect. The dynamic range as quantified there is relevant and interesting especially for noting trends in re-issues, etc. over the years but if you actually listen to the recordings listed ON A GOOD SYSTEM, that one metric falls far short from telling the whole story in regards to sound quality of recordings and how various ones differ.

In general, I've found recordings with traditional good dynamic range to be very enjoyable, but for certain kinds of music, like pop/rock in particular, the importance of dynamic range alone is less. There are many other things in a recording that might be emphasized differently as well, for better or for worse. Its like an artist attempting to perform an enjoyable cover of a standard. It might work or not, depending on the skills of the performers, or in teh case of a remaster, the engineers.

I have some of the worst rated CDs most highly compressed CDs in teh Dynamic Range DB, like Metallica's Death Magnetic.

Assuming one might like this recording to start with, I find it a useful test recording. The boundary between delivering the music as recorded well with or without earbleed is a very fine one. For example, I found that changing power cords on my amp and pre-amp alone made the difference. Whereas with many recordings, the cords might sound different, but not enough to make or break the deal. There are some very good tracks on this CD, but an audiophile might not ever be able to discover or enjoy them without having to go that extra mile to get things just right without negatively impacting all the rest. Its a very rewarding feeling for me when there is potential to enjoy almost any recording regardless of how it is recorded. To me thats what its all about, being able to enjoy all "good" music, not just the ones produced the way I might prefer or like.

Assuming for a moment that reissues are intended by the record companies to actually make money, not to sell to audiophiles, reissues will be more and more dynamically compressed so they can up the level. This way the sound is more appealing, I.e., louder, to those folks with earphones and iPods, things of that nature.

It's true that is where the biggest market is these days but I think it mostly impacts newer pop recordings targeting the mass market.

Still better probably than what I remember hearing coming out of my AM radio which was the closest equivalent back in the day.

Its always a mixed bag, and the nature of the mix changes over time.

I think the Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) produced remasters are excellent especially the 40th anniversary edition of Aqualung. He also did the ELP catalog, but I have not heard them. I need to be enticed with extra goodies to buy another edition of a cd I already have. My favorite "deluxe" editions include a second disc of out takes or better yet, a live concert. Clapton has a few, Traffic's "John Barleycorn" is a good one. I am waiting for Supertramps's "Crime of the Century' which was recently released with a 2nd live disc. The original was an excellent recording so I am curious.

Phase: you are limiting the field if we exclude "premium" re-do's (e.g. the SRV set at 45 is just phenomenal). Limited to 'standard' releases, I agree re Steve Wilson's work: his remix of Tull's Benefit is far more coherent than the UK or US first presses (which sound muddy); that Ziggy/Spiders re-do from several years ago is very good compared to the average standard issue (although a UK 6E-4E is still better sounding in my estimation); agree that Space in Time on AF sounds very good, though I didn't have an original pressing to do a direct comparison; there is a Chris Bellman re-cut of Alice Cooper's 'Killer' that was issued in the EU that is very good. Ditto Bellman's re-cut of Harvest- I still prefer the original pressing, but a quiet copy is hard to find and the re-do is a little 'clearer' sounding, compared to the original, which sounds a little congested, though more 'organic.' None of these are particularly expensive. The Zep re-do's are serviceable for those who don't want to spend big money on the right pressings, but they aren't in the same ballpark as the right early pressings. The Beatles Mono releases are great!