How can you tell the quality of the recording?

Mapman, I've got to disagree with you on the quality of CD's over the past 30 years. Most CD's sold are Pop recordings. 30 years ago, many of the original pop CD's were rushed to market on early generation equipment by engineers still learning how maximize the new medium. The recent gain riding, dynamics squashing pop recordings have been just plain terrible. Overall I think only a paltry percentage of recordings sold are up to their full potential.

Does all this mean, you can like a bad recording and not like a great recording? If so, I don't get the question either. Beethoven's 9th-furtwangler - 1942, comes to mind.

Unsound,

I said 10-20 years, not 30. I agree more early CD recordings were of relatively poor quality. But I think they have improved over time as a whole. There there will always be some % that are inferior to others. That's usually the way things work.

Of course, that's by my assessment of quality. Other's assessments will differ, and few will be the same. Unless there is some objective way of measuring overall quality, good luck determining any absolute truth. Dynamics is just one aspect of a good recording. Others may have an inverse relationship with dynamics, but a tradeoff does not necessarily reduce overall quality.

Sorry about the timeline error.
It's inexcusable, there is no need for a trade off. The medium is fully capable of delivering the balance of what's there without having to sacrifice the dynamics. Classical CD's are the proof.

Unsound, you are absolutely right, that if the master tapes are dynamic, there should be no loss going to cd.