Disagree with that. I'm talking strictly about pop music, which I've been listening to avidly for decades. You could tell the difference between 45s of pop song

Disagree with that. I'm talking strictly about pop music, which I've been listening to avidly for decades. You could tell the difference between 45s of pop songs and radio playback easily in the '80s. At first I wanted that "fat" radio sound, and even got an equalizer thinking that this was the key. But of course it wasn't; radio stations compressed music to sound "stronger" on the dial. So I don't know why your assertion about "trapezing" would hold true at all. Over time I realized that the 45s, with their greater dynamic range, sounded better than the radio and were more enjoyable to play loud. I have 45s from the '70s into the 2000s, most of which will sound better than their shitty "remastered" versions streaming right now. Yes, polystyrene 45s. That's pathetic. The shittiest part of all is that nobody is served by the destruction of pop music; and everyone is hindered. Otherwise catchy songs are quickly tiresome to listen to. Recent songs can't be mixed well with others; there's no room in the wall of noise. Hence the popularity of "mashups" that almost always feature an older song. It's not even pleasant to have recently-mastered music on during parties because you can't talk over the noise; so it's either too soft or too loud.