Yes basically what you are saying is correct. They are trying to 'pump up' the sound slightly. They are trying to make them brighter as well. One reason is the loudness war. The old classic albums sound quieter (because they are) than current releases - so they beef it up slightly using limiters & compressors to make them that bit louder. If only people would learn to use the volume control! Also some albums DO require remastering - Alan Parsons 'Tales' album is a lot better after being remastered. The drums are a lot more vibrant. And what works on speakers does not neccesarily translate well to headphones, which a lot of kids are using these days. And vice versa of course. So that's another reason to remaster. Whar worked in the old analogue world does not always work in the digital one. But, and this is a BIG but, if you have mixed an album correctly it should not require mastering at all these days. You can do all the things in the mix stage on DAW's these days that the old mastering sessions required. The main thing that mastering gives you is a second set of ears to make judgements on what is good and what's not. You have full control over the whole process. Aa a side note, I noticed that I made some glaring mistakes on my first project - too much reverb for one - and I am going to remix it at some stage. I was happy with it when I first did it but I have since noticed some glitches. Time is a great teacher. Busy looking at a plug-in from Zynaptiq called 'Unveil' and it is an amazing piece of software. Remember that in days of vinyl the vinyl cutting process was dependent on how loud your material was and that would determine the spacing of the grooves to prevent the stylus going bananas during playback. With digital, this is no longer an issue. This was also something to be considered during mastering, and still is if you are cutting vinyl.
But I suspect the main reason for remastering is to get the punter to buy the album again - i.e. to make money.
But I suspect the main reason for remastering is to get the punter to buy the album again - i.e. to make money.
'The purpose of life is a life of purpose' - Athena Orchard.