At one point, I complained that 0.25micron diamond spray on felt was harsh also. Now, I don't believe that to be true. I learned the characteristics of the surface and the abrasive. That is all.
And, that was my point above in defending balsa and pastes. Until you learn, it won't always turn out best. When you learn to use a surface and abrasive, I don't think there is that much difference. Only characteristics... grit size, grit shape, substrate, surface, surface porosity and sponginess, etc.