Mention now of the RCA reissue of Reiner's 1954 ASZ raises the question "which one?". There have been several since the dawn of the digital era. The early ones, I suspect, followed a cynical industry practice of digitising copy-masters only, such as prepared for LP production, simply because they were there and ready to go. Their sound therefore was less than optimal.

But in 2004 RCA released the hybrid SACD version which promised to be the real deal. This disc, although apparently deleted, is still widely available at reasonable cost. It was from the series of Living Stereo reissues that RCA had transferred, allegedly from the original mastertapes, by Soundmirror Inc, much admired in the MWI review pages as also engineering for the likes of Reference Recordings. For the SACD transfers, the original 3-channel tapes were used where they existed. This particular Reiner recording was apparently stereo only.

If we are to rely on manufacturers' blurb, then this is what RCA/Soundmirror had to say: "In remastering these tapes, we kept the signal path as short as possible. A Studer-Aria analog tape recorder was connected with premium Siltech cabling directly to specifically chosen dCS converters. This DSD data is directly encoded onto the SACD. Thus the listener is able to hear the output of these converters exactly as we heard it in the studio. The DSD program is essentially identical to the analog tape. What you hear are faithful copies of each historic recording - the pure performance, presented in its original splendor. No signal processing was necessary to 'improve' these extraordinary tapes."

So, despite RCA's hyperbole and name-dropping, can any of Pristine, HDTT, Restoration Archive, etc. really beat that? For recordings of this era, the restoration business relies largely on, at best, secondary rather than protected, costly original sources. For this Reiner recording, HDTT cite an ordinary RCA Red Seal commercial tape, the usually coy Pristine don't disclose any source that I can see, and as for Restoration Archive's "taken from 20th Century digital transfers", what does that mean? Whose transfers? And from what sources?

The restoration business also relies heavily on the modern miracle of digital audio workstations, which even in their most modest form as downloadable freeware can do the most amazing things with any recording. I know, I use one myself, and so can you! In the twinkling of an eye you can apply noise reduction, click removal, speed and pitch correction, tonal equalisation, "ambient stereo", and a myriad of other effects.

Rather leave it up to somebody else? That's fine, but be aware that any intervention is a process of technical and quality decisions that reflect not only the restorer's own taste, but their growing certainty about what pushes certain collectors' and critics' buttons.

So, would you prefer the allegedly original, untrammeled transfer of Reiner's ASZ on the aforementioned RCA, or the restorers' most likely unoriginal, processed alternatives? Purely subjective, of course, depending perhaps on whether you like a bit of lipstick on your Mona Lisa.