Is remastered mainly just less jitter?

No. A remaster from analog tapes may have less jitter with a more modern A to D. However the main thing with a remaster is some adjustment of the sound of the original master by a mastering engineer. Modern technology can also work a bit of magic with older material. Also the final EQ is adjusted to fit modern tastes.

Unfortunately, per George comment above, modern Mastering is all about making things sound hotter for car and portable player consumption. The sound is harsh with an increased level of uneven harmonics from hard limiting of peaks to squash the dynamic range into a few dB. In the end, most modern masters are harsh and unnaturally constricted sounding - or a way to describe it is the recordings don’t breathe and listeners will find the audio tiring after a very short time.

@georgehifi 
Interesting list.  I wish there was a legend explaining the scale.
b

Blue,

No. Jitter is usually considered an issue on the playback, but I suppose ADCs could also have it.

Read up on the mastering process. You start from raw recordings, with coughs, spits, excess breathing... and multiple tracks and boil it down to the record.

There’s also a final mastering step, where 2 tracks are adjusted based on particulars of an audience or LP master cutting lathe

A "re-master" can often be quite trendy, adjusting for changes in listener and speaker preferences over the years.

Here is a shorter, fun version to learn about the re-mastering done to "Kind of Blue"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_p7Qbb_LAo



Best,

E

OTOH, the really early masters for CD are poor - if one were to avoid listening before buying maybe the 1990s would be the safest bet.

Re-mastering can use newer, better technologies; can remove some artefacts from say wow & flutter, can degrade the sound with compression, and can reflect personal preferences of the engineer or fads

Jitter is likely the least problem or benefit in re-mastering

Early CD really vary.

For some reason, Dark Side of the Moon was often sent around in analog master form, then was final-mastered at each CD pressing, so there are a number of different quality CD’s for the same recording out there. Then there is one VERY famous remaster that totally kills it dynamically and sound effects-wise.

Then there’s a lot of really crap sounding CD’s, especially in the early age of digital drums. Ugh.