John:
Ref 'digital harshness' - I suppose that you are right; however, there are many, many listeners out there that swear that it exists due to inadequate sampling rates, etc, etc, & that analogue (vinyl & tubes) is somehow smoother sounding. I think that there may be some truth to those theories, but the actual recording methods/equipment, mixing & compression have the most impact on how the actual product sounds.
In my CD collection that goes back to the very first CD releases, there are some really poor renderings out there, especially in some of the older ones. Several are almost painful, even through tubes...
TAM
