Here is the problem I have with CD v. Hirez stuff. I have some stellar recordings on CD that are incomparable in quality, dynamics and emotional involvement. Two that come to mind are Telarc's Aaron Copland - The Music of America (CD-80339) and The Brian Setzer Orchestra on Hollywood Records (HR-61565-2).
To condemn the CD format simply doesn't make any sense. I've have been recording on one format or another for the last 45 years. Lots of live stuff. The one thing I learned then, is that there simply is a lot of luck involved in pulling off a great recording.
We can safely say that there are no 2 studios that are exactly alike. They all have different boards, processors, mics, power, recorders and a host of other variables that make even the studio itself, unique. It's not like Burger King, where the Whopper is supposed to be the same, no matter where you get one. So even if we A/B the what we think is the same music from the same process, only listening to it on different formats, is almost certainly never the case, and Brett, that is why the vinyl thing got brought up.
You can't compare apples to apples with any music in the digital domain, because the process to get to these formats is not described, nor is it identical. The source material is for the most part, unknown.
Wayner