Al, I didn't take the time to read the threads you mentioned, but (my understanding is) this was settled a long time ago; and the overwhelming conclusion (at that time anyway ;~) had to do with the fact that a burned CD has (physically) real 'pits' -- which are actually 'burned' into the media with a laser, producing a more easy-to-read surface -- i.e., less digital 'jitter' in the resulting datastream.
Commercial CD's are stamped (ironically, just like an LP!) so their so-called 'pits' are really just depressions (or was it bumps?) that scatter the reflected laser light enough to make it look ("read") like a pit to the playback sensor. Whereas a recorded CD (with 'real' pits, literally burned into the surface,) produces a much cleaner (jitter-free) signal on playback.
Commercial CD's are stamped (ironically, just like an LP!) so their so-called 'pits' are really just depressions (or was it bumps?) that scatter the reflected laser light enough to make it look ("read") like a pit to the playback sensor. Whereas a recorded CD (with 'real' pits, literally burned into the surface,) produces a much cleaner (jitter-free) signal on playback.