> PCM is also a lossy compression due to the quantization step, albeit its effect is much less pronounced for so many reasons that no one even thinks it as a "c

> PCM is also a lossy compression due to the quantization step, albeit its effect is much less pronounced for so many reasons that no one even thinks it as a "compression" method. 20 * log10(1.0 / 2**16) == -96db Much like sampling rate, it produces a range that's most likely outside of the ability for any human to appreciably detect. It's also a constant effect, whereas codecs actually analyze the audio to determine which components of the frequency spectrum it can eliminate. I don't think it's reasonable to compare PCM and lossy codecs this way.