Jim Lesurf wrote:

One possible reason is that many pop/rock CDs are level compressed
into clipping at replay.

Do you mean actual wave clipping, with the subsequent array of odd
harmonics? If so, I can't say I've heard that on any of my CDs. It
seems hard to believe they'd do it - it's such a trivial thing to
identify any potential clipping before generating the digital audio
stream for the CD that it must surely be utterly routine, or even
automated, to avoid it.

If you mean over-compressed so the dynamic range is limited, I can
accept what you mean. Pop/rock often seems to have virtually the same
volume level for the "quiet" and "loud" bits regardless.

This has nothing to do with what the media are capable of. Everything
to do with the behaviour of the people making the discs from the
master recordings.

I think that is very well put. To be honest, though, I would have
thought they'd be more likely to compress the dynamic range on vinyl
than on CD, because vinyl has such a limited dynamic range and SNR.

--
SteveT