I seem to remember somewhere that CD sound-files were designed to be “bigger,” so that if the player happens to encounter a bum track, it can skip to the next one and play it, instead, without you noticing.   So, the format deliberately uses a “big, fat, long” waveform instead of a “tight, compact, space-efficient” one.   This lets manufacturers use “factory seconds” for publication instead of throwing them away.   (To this day, you see CD-R factory seconds being sold as “music” CDs.   Every now and then, misinformed people – my mother, for instance – will use them for backups.   Oops...)