[elektronaut]

Spot on. Mastering for a wider dynamic range on vinyl makes sense. Not only because of the inherent physical limitations, but it's also reasonable to expect the listener has a decent sound system to go with the record player. It's also common for level to vary between records. Wider grooves allow for more loudness, so it's a tradeoff versus running time and playback speed.

Fortunately, the shift from CDs to digital as primary target has brought an end to the Loudness War. The various services have standards for perceived loudness, so there's no incentive for the mastering engineer to squeeze a few extra decibels out of the mix - past a certain point you're accomplishing nothing but killing your headroom margin.