The original master tape provides the highest sound quality with each copy/generation a lower & lower quality. The differences are easily discernable.
As an aside, my friend created the audiophile market to go back to the true, original master tapes when remastering. Before, 2nd and 3rd generation tapes were routinely used.
So always be careful when you purchase a “remastered” version - it may not have been sourced from the original studio tapes.
That’s why the real, master tape is so treasured.
Interesting you mentioned vinyl LPs. My friend remastered most of the classic jazz albums to vinyl LP.
I visited him in LA at a mastering studio & LP pressing plant with my Japanese partners who produced uber-high end vacuum tube amplifiers costing up to $300k. As a gift, Steve cut test lacquers of the Doobie Brothers “Minute by Minute” LP. The lacquer is cut direct from the master tape feeding the lathe and has only 50 plays in it.
The typical LP (except for Direct-to-Disk) are 2 generations down the chain so out test lacquers are as close to the master tapes as possible.
My masterig friend has gifted me with many, many CDRs burned direct from the master tapes he remastered of Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Beach Boys, Miles Davis, Ray Charles - some “dry” (before the commercial reverb was added.
A very special gift was the entire Beatles catalog including studio demos never released made when he visited Abbey Road to discuss remastering the catalog. To hear studio chatter is really awesome.
But after hearing the master tapes played back, not even $1 Million stereo systems that I’ve heard and provided equipment comes close to those RtR master tapes.
Funny story re: Ray Charles. When my friend agreed to remaster a group of Ray’s albums, he and his label partner handed Ray a check that was also encoded in Braile. Ray “felt” the braile, “read” it and proclaimed, “Boys, we have a deal!” Funny stuff!
I’m beginning to ramble but enjoy sharing these inside glimpses...hope you enjoyed my ramblings.
Man, that is fantastic! A $300K tube amp?! Holy crap! I truly appreciate that you let me in on this background story. Thanks so much!
Yikes, "Minute by Minute". Are you sure that was intended as a gift? :-)