I read comments now and then of people clinging to the notion DSD is softer than that of PCM. And my question is simple: compared to what?
Compared to live recorded music? I don't think so. I have on many occasions stood in the mastering studio listening to originally recorded music and compared the two.
Yet I cannot deny what many hear. I wonder too if there's a problem with our language describing the things we hear. It's funny. In our minds we're quite clear about our perceptions and then it comes time to describe them. It's always a challenge.
I continue to question the notion of a sound attributed to a format. It's an easy trap to fall into. Like the 'sound' of tubes vs. transistors. Perhaps true once.
Let's do our best to compare only to our idea of the real thing.