Lucky you! While I fully agree that the music is good, I really can't stand the sound of this set, and I'm going to sell it. ←
Lucky me.
I don't expect the sound quality of a 40-plus year old recording to be perfect. Considering this music is 40-plus years old, I believe it sounds damned good. Could it sound better? Probably. Could it sound worse? Definitely. The sound is crisp with much detail. To my ears, the remastering takes nothing away from Donaldson's horn. Again, listen to a couple of tunes from any of the six CDs and the sense of the compressed sound fades from view, from my viewpoint. In general, I do like Ron McMaster's work.
There is no right or wrong. We like what we like and don't like what we don't like. For me, the sound quality of the Lou Donaldson box is so much more good than bad.
Sometimes, to my ears, a bit of distortion here and there adds to the style of an old recording. The sound quality is very modern yet, when a bit of distortion or faded sound sneaks through, I'm reminded this is recording that was made several years ago. It is the genuine article.
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Sorry, but I don't agree at all. I have several Japanese "Blue Note Works" TOCJ reissues of albums included in the set, and, while they're a bit too much rolled-off at the top end, those sound much better, less aggressive and much more natural to my ears. It really isn't necessary to use compression/maximize sound levels - and thus taking dynamics out of the music (and giving me headaches) - like on this set to make these older recordings sound better. In my opinion using compression/maximizing sound levels is one of the evils of modern mastering, and totally unnecessary for and even detrimental to the improvement of the sound of older recordings.