jaxwired:plastic penguin:The answer is really in the question: If you are copying the original then the end product will be slightly inferior. Another example is photographs. If you ask a high camera shop, or anywhere where they process pictures, they generally say that quality will not be quite the same as the original.
I've always found, in particular, a cd copy isn't as 3D sounding as the original...
You can't compare print copies to CD copies.
CDs contain digital information. It's discreet information, meaning that there is a fixed number of values. Those values if read correctly and writtten correctly will be the same on both discs. If the values are the same on both discs, then they will sound identical UNLESS, there is something about the properties of the discs themselves that make one harder to read than the other when being played. In which case the CD player may read more erroneous data during playback on one than than the other,
I would not worry about copies sounding inferior.
If you're streaming onto a CD, I agree totally. Copying CD to CD, the copied version is noticably inferior. I have several discs a friend of mine recorded 3 years ago and played on face value they sound fine - compare it to a shop bought (proper recorded version) and there's a very noticable difference.
Edit - friend has an expensive Yamaha CD recorder.