It's also a question of preference. DG and HVK ... But it's not just about "good" or "bad", but also about preference.
Well, I hear that "bad digital" in a lot non-HVK DG, including the Boulez/Mahler stuff, recorded in the US, back in the mid- to late 1990s.
That said, UMG's recent remasterings -- Decca, DG, Philips, Archiv, etc -- seem to bring some life back into these now-classic recordings ... have a listen...
Music composed, conducted and produced by John Williams Orchestrations by Herbert Spencer & John Williams Additional orchestrations by Alexander Courage & Gordon Langford Music performed by The London Symphony Orchestra
Music editor: Kenneth Wannberg
John Neufeld was ochestrator on Victory Celebration for 1997 edition
Classical recording engineer, Tony Faulkner, nails it by characterizing digital with a simple "honk" sound he makes with a cupped mouth (somewhere in this video) ...
He wasn't talking about digital. He was talking about an old 78 demo recording.