I too want to call BS on this. If this were true, there wouldn’t be so many ADD discs getting high recommendations from the guidebooks and magazines that review classical CDs.
If a CD sounds terrible, it’s because a poor job was done in the recording, engineering, or remastering, and that can happen whether or not it’s a full digital recording. Or if it’s a really old recording—say, not just before the digital era but before the stereo era.
But there are some ADD recordings that, at least to a non-audiophile, sound just as good as DDD; and many others that sound imperfect, but not enough so to really detract from your enjoyment.
Also, whether or not a CD is full digital has very little to do with whether or not it was in the “bargain bin.” Many bargain-bin CDs are full-digital recordings made by “no-name” performers or orchestras (often from Eastern Europe); and the performances and sound quality could be anywhere from crappy to every bit as good as the famous-name, full-price recordings.
This is the worst possible advice. Most of the great conductors and great orchestras at their peak were recorded pre-DDD. And the digital recordings in bargain bins are there for a reason.
