Which is roughly 7K - 8K hz for the average person with average hearing loss... (Everyone suffers from SOME hearing loss) Compression is only a byproduct of the volume wars. Loudness is the problem. If I compress drum overheads I can make you hear a ride bell ping over a Dimebag solo. Conversly, if I put a bus compressor on a master track without sidechaining bass frequencies, you’ll never hear anything worth hearing.
The perceived quality boost from audiophile equipment is merely “in your eardrums(head)”... It also helps if the producers and engineers mixing and mastering the music know how to mix music.
The loud home hi-fi system has mostly gone the way of the dodo. Adults will sit and watch a sophisticated program for an hour. I’m not sure a significant % will ever go back to doing that with music. Seems to me now, most adults look at music as something they listen to while they are also doing something else, driving, jogging, making supper. It’s just background noise, acceptable to be experienced through computer speakers while surfing the internet or earbuds or whatever you call them. So they produce and mix the songs with that in mind, a lot of it is made to have all the levels as high as possible. It’s why they sound really bad on good systems, in my opinion.
Freegards