An estimated state-space model can possibly be improved by further iterations with estimation data. This contribution specifically studies if models obtained by subspace estimation can be improved by subsequent re-estimation of the B, C, and D matrices (which involves linear estimation problems). Several tests are performed, which show that it is generally advisable to do such further re-estimation steps using the maximum likelihood criterion. Stated more succinctly in terms of MATLABC (R) functions, ssest generally outperforms n4sid. (C) 2018, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.