Sound Quality of red book CDs vs.streaming

I have not yet gotten into a streaming service though I understand the value of having access to a vast catalog of music.

Trouble with streaming you don’t know what version of the album your getting, some have had the daylights compressed out of them.

This is what I use to find the most dynamic version type in your artist and album.
"more green/highest right side number". click on it and find the cat no. then search for a used cd on ebay. Latest are usually more compressed I noticed.
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Pink+Floyd&album=The+Wall
For this The Wall the top one 1991 I’d go for trouble is there’s no cat no for it, just that’s it’s a South African one.

Next best is half way down and it has two cat no.s C2K-36183 / C2K-36185
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/view/92174

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=C2K-36183&_sacat=0&...

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/pink-floyd-the-wall-c2k-36183.62279/page-2

Cheers George

audioengrI enjoy reading your posts for the most part. I do not see your gear listed nor pics in Virtual Systems?  Happy Listening!

Hi, George. I am familiar with DR measurements and the effects of dynamic compression. I guess my question should have been more pointed: how do you know what mastering you are getting on a streaming service? Are mastering credits provided by the streaming service or are there other indications that match up with hard media versions of a given recording?

Whart,

In streaming services you can’t determine what mastering is used.  What’s worse, most times, there’s no indication of what year a particular CD was released. In classical music there may be multiple performances of the same work by a performer from different years and there’s no way of determining which versions are earlier or later.

I guess my question should have been more pointed: how do you know what mastering you are getting on a streaming service?

You don’t, they usually go with the latest, which unfortunately most are more compressed than the originals 10-20 years ago. That’s why I don’t stream or download, I stick with the silver disc.

Just for interest have a look at Adel 21 on the DR website,  I really liked it in the car on the radio.
I bought the cd played it once when I got it on my home rig, and was shocked how compressed it was, and couldn’t send it back quick enough.
http://dr.loudness-war.info/album/list?artist=Adel&album=21

Cheers George