authentic 'crackles' in the music which you wouldn't get with a digitally remastered CD

I wrote in the "downloads for £1" thread: I can also recall that what were often crappy recordings of early rock'n roll in the 1950s are now regarded as the real thing :-)

Early digital remastering was mainly very insensitive to the tonal values of the original record and concentrated on clarity at the expense of everything else. This has certainly improved. But I don't think the artists themselves would have approved of 'authentic crackles' either - they would have wanted the original shellac/vinyl to be as perfect as possible.

I once did a spoof '30s recording - with added dust and crackles... just for fun.