I understand what lossy is, how an MP3 of a CD is lossy compared to the CD source. But, is a CD itself considered lossy if it was mastered off of an analog or 24 bit master tape? Surely a CD isn't as hi-res as a 24bit DAT (not to mention an analog master tape) so does that mean it is considered lossy too?

The reason I am asking is because of the way this phrase is thrown about. For instance, I have a 24bit DAT from one of my bands, and the DAT is as hi-res as it is going to get in our case. Say we were to release the album on the DAT as a DVD-VIDEO audio in the identical 24bit format, is that considered lossy? I have often heard of DVD-VIDEO audio tracks being referred to as inferior because they are lossy (even the 96/24 ones which sound fantastic in most cases). Is there some sort of loss even when going from say a 24bit DAT to a 24bit DVD-VIDEO audio track?

So what is the deal, is it a term that is relative to one source and one destination (Say CD to MP3) or does it apply to the whole audio chain (Analog master tape to CD to MP3)?

So what is the deal, is it a term that is relative to one source and one destination (Say CD to MP3) or does it apply to the whole audio chain (Analog master tape to CD to MP3)?
"Lossy" refers to a loss of information. The only information "lost" converting an analog tape to CD is frequencies above 22 kHz. But since those aren't audible, it's, well, no loss. ;)

I don't understand why you would consider going from a 24-bit tape to a 24-bit disk "lossy."