It's not the media but the instead the master that made that recording.About 1 in 5 of my CDs sound a bit anomalously "hard" in the upper midrange. I have never heard this on a SACD or a reel to reel tape. It's worth it to me in order to enjoy the clear, clean, dynamic sound on the other 80%.
In the situations you brought up, they are always different sources.
Or possibly even your expectation bias of what you expect to hear.