1st generation CD players were pushing the limits of the technology that was available at the time, however this meant that there were problems with both the chips and the filters used, which caused them to sound pretty rough.
Philips/Marantz took a slightly different route in that they used 14bit DACs (Which had lower distortion) and used over sampling so that the filters needed caused way less problems in the audio spectrum. (The difference in the sound quality was marked)
As technology moved on (The DAC chips and filters improved significantly) the players than began to show there full potential, with classic designs coming along in the late 80s early 90s.
Technology is always improving, however when you reach a certain point the differences to cost ratio become unviable for mass market, thus a replacement comes along, Sony was hoping the SACD was the next step, but cost and the advent of MP3 players (Which were more convenient for the masses) pretty much scuppered that. (As far as I am aware it is the only time in H-Fi that the replacement was worse in quality than what it replaced)
So yes, early players were most certainly rough.
Bill