I think when the first CD's came out, there was alot of audible hiss on them, which turned some people off, even though there was excellent dynamic range.
10 years later, and the record companies "remaster" the discs by adding noise reduction and compression. The result is in many cases that the hiss is gone, the sound is "cleaner" and the dynamic range is compressed.
Million dollar question - would you rather have audible hiss and more dynamic range or noise reduction and compressed with less dynamic range?
