78s sound better played on modern turntables - like the famed Audio Technica (can't remember the model number) - or a good audiophile one (I use a VPI) - remember that old speakers were problematic as well (too much bass, probably why it was prominent) - but Chris is absolutely right about many CDs from 78, though the early ones were ALSO marred by horrific Analog to Digital transfers - with 78s, as with everything else, also, condition is the most important thing - the best transfer engineers in this respect were Nick Perls (from Yazoo, I think Chris knew him) and Carl Seltzer (did some Folkways stuff, also things for the notorious Rosetta Weitz) - and of course Joh R.T. Davies. All those guys are dead now, but there are still people around, like Dog Pomeroy or Seth Winner or Steve Lasker that can do it right - also that guy who posted here briefly, from Britian (kind of hit and run; plugged his stuff and than split) -
EQ and EQ curve, by the way, is also important, as are monitors, which can grossly distort what an engineer is hearing and how he resolves it - that's why, when I used to do this for a living, I invested in the world's greatest speakers (a pair of humongous Bryston's Labs) and a good digital EQ program -