Interesting. So the production chain is:
Master -> Safety Master -> Production Master -> (Many) plays -> Customer Copy
According to @sonicflare on YT, we lose about 6dB per copy.
This means that the vinyl album is a more direct copy of the Master.
It would be interesting to compare the sound quality on a top-tier TT (eg, Nagra, Air Force 0 or 1, SAT) with a top-tier R2R.
From which tape is the vinyl cut, the Master?