Just to add my .02 cents worth on this topic.
2 thoughts:
1. The person who is leading a remastering project for an album has a tremendous amount to do with how it turns out. I'm not trying to discount compression/bit rates etc... But, when you hear some of the old Zeppelin stuff remastered by Jimmy Page, you understand that that guy has a set of ears on him. Houses of the Holy re-mastered -- Oooh Aaah.
2. I think the recording studios that were used for the original tapes has a lot to do with how the CDs sound. I think the 70s introduced a lot of new concepts in studios that were just flat out wrong. Consequently, there is a lot of bad stuff that know matter how they try to remaster sounds like junk. ESPECIALLY on good speakers like Axioms.
Latest CD that was awesome on the Axioms, Chicago II, tracks: AM Morning, PM Morning, Memories of Love. The French horn jumps to life on the Axioms.
