Yo' stehno! Definitely the latter, and specifically I think it follows the digital equipment used. And just because a source is analog doesn’t mean it necessarily excels in the areas of musical communication we're talking about. I’ve heard many turntables that are great at revealing the sonic detail in the grooves but express it in a way that is lacking insight into what the musicians are trying to say ( for one example, blurring of those rhythmic subtleties used to shape phrases).
i don’t know why it’s so difficult for digital playback to preserve these performance aspects? The ability to do so certainly doesn’t follow price. I’m still using a relatively inexpensive Lavry DAC (leftover from recording studio duty) in our fancy hifi because it gets out of the way and leaves the nuts and bolts in place.
Btw, there was a video comparison of a track from Sonny Rollins “Way Out West” here recently that included two analog sourced replays along with your system's digital. Of the three, I felt yours was the best at telling me what Rollins and co. were trying to say - there was one phrase I remember it seemed I could tell what Sonny was thinking as he played it(!) - and while the expensive analog was beautiful to listen to, I’d choose your setup for its performance transparency every day of the week. Can only imagine how much fun your kit would be with a WTL, Brinkmann, or Grand Prix Audio 'table as source
