My first thought, at age 68, and I am not sure how old David is (but at least my age), is that his hearing is no longer sufficient for critical listening as it once was. I went to the audiologist this year and found my hearing slopes down rapidly after 4K. $3,000 later on high tech hearing aids with computer adjusted EQ up to 8K, and I can hear a chunk of the world I was missing before.
For the past 10 years I have perceived that listening to music, while pleasurable, was not as defining and spatially mesmerizing as it once was. I actually purchased a headphone amp/dac and ear buds and rediscovered some of the things I was missing.
I recently picked up a WiiM Ultra, and with its room correction and EQ I am finding listening more pleasurable than in recent years.
I won't even get into the tinnitus aspect of things.
One may age gracefully and acquire wisdom, but for almost everyone your hearing will deteriorate, if not substantially. His comments are kind of like a senior citizen evaluating the resolution of 65-inch flat screen TVs without wearing glasses. Good luck.
I would prefer he sit down and in a double-blind test try and pick which track is which. If he can ace that, then I might consider believe him. Comparing FM multiplex to lossless digital streaming is not an accurate or appropriate comparison, nor is it if even if he is talking about digital FM.
Booo.