The common knowledge tells us that digital filters were introduced to simplify the design of the analog anti-imaging filters, i.e. reduce costs. What if one doesn't care about the cost? I'm pretty sure it is possible to create a heck of an analog filter
Digital filters in the case of Compact Disc were created due to the fact that Philips had already committed to silicon 14 bit D/A converters (as had Toshiba) when the working group decreed that 16 bit was the standard. Oversampling gave them almost 16bits of resolution using 14 bit D/As and precious extra time to get true 16bit D/As fabricated. (the dual channel TDA-1541)
It was a welcome byproduct of oversampling (4 times in the case of the first TDA-1540D, single channel 14 bit D/As released in their CD players in March 1983), that the analogue reconstruction filters could be less complicated and less costly.
The analogue filters used in the very first generation CD players were expensive to buy and align. 13th order Chebyschev were used in some early machines IIRC.
This is single sample, full 0dBFS impulse as produced by the very first commercially released CD player- the Sony CDP-101 (I have several in my collection). Note, due to oversampling not appearing on this unit, there is absolute zero pre-ringing. There is considerable post-ringing however.
Here's a 100Hz square wave, again on the CDP-101
Here's the same single sample pulse on a 24/196 CD player with OS (A Marantz PMD-325 professional machine) Horizontal Scales are not the same however- it is not really that clean
Zoomed in to 100uS/Div to see the pre-ringing of the oversampling DF.
The same square wave for comparison
Personally, I have absolutely no problem listening to well implemented 16/44 D/As, using analogue (brickwall) filters.
But, my favourite machines are Sonys, their flagship machines from 1989-91 which used BB PCM-58P K in 8x OS. To this day, their CD (measured) performance is truly beyond any rational criticism. It makes me smile to see standalone D/As of today, that can't approach what those machines achieved on Red Book nearly 30 years ago.