What is the goal of what what you are discussing?The goal is to characterize the symptoms as precisely as possible, in technical terms. Hopefully that would help to identify or at least narrow down the possible cause(s).
Can I ask when you listen to both versions if one sounds more satisfying than the other?Hard to say. Partly because neither sounded satisfying, due to the excessively hot treble, and to some extent also due to a general lack of transparency. I have no way of knowing, of course, the extent to which all of that may have been contributed to by the original recording, vs. your system's reproduction of it, vs. your recorder and microphone.
Also, as I indicated, precise equalization of volume levels was problematical, which further increases the difficulty of making any judgments.
Can you provide an answer to my question about whether or not your recorder applied AGC and/or peak limiting when your recordings were created? If you are not sure, let us know the make and model of the recorder. If an external microphone was used with it, let us know its make and model as well.
Regards,
-- Al