I am not sure, who is this listener what hears exactly what is "objectively better" - ? And I am sceptical to such claims regarding digital. It is not as if I have not tried. I played analog for many years, until I switched to digital, naively thinking "a bit is a bit". It wasn't. I had to reinvest in my analog chain, to get better sound. I think some of the confusion here is due to differences in the quality of the analog chain. It has to be fairly good (but not outrageously expensive) to compete with the best digital.
Now, I've recently invested in a Teac NT-505. It does raise the digital sound quality quite a lot, in my case, going from a Squeezebox. Very enjoyable. So I've been listening to streaming (masters from Tidal) and to hi-res recording over the home network. The Teac is a bit polite maybe not fully burned in, but very nice. Then, last night, I put on the latest Blue Oyster Cult, The symbol remains. 2 x LP. Sorry folks, but it blew away the digital! Even if this is by no means an "audiophile" recording (rather the opposite). Why is this? Why do I find myself "listening" to digital, while I become "immersed" in the analog sound? Don't know. Maybe, some conditioning is at work, I am used to playing LPs, but I don't think that is the whole story.
Now, I've recently invested in a Teac NT-505. It does raise the digital sound quality quite a lot, in my case, going from a Squeezebox. Very enjoyable. So I've been listening to streaming (masters from Tidal) and to hi-res recording over the home network. The Teac is a bit polite maybe not fully burned in, but very nice. Then, last night, I put on the latest Blue Oyster Cult, The symbol remains. 2 x LP. Sorry folks, but it blew away the digital! Even if this is by no means an "audiophile" recording (rather the opposite). Why is this? Why do I find myself "listening" to digital, while I become "immersed" in the analog sound? Don't know. Maybe, some conditioning is at work, I am used to playing LPs, but I don't think that is the whole story.