Hi,
There are many differences. The most important ones are the different bank switching mechanism (MSB vs LSB) and sysex messages. So if a midi file targets specifically XG (especially if using sysex messages for patches, banks, effects) then it will sound bad in GS and vice versa.
If you would like to hear how a GS/XG midi is really intended to sound you should not use sf2 soundfonts.
The sf2 format is tightly bound to GM/GS so it's almost impossible to fully implement XG sound with it.
But full GS compatible soundfonts are also rare.
Solutions:
For old pre-GM DOS game midis use Munt Roland MT-32 emulator (almost perfect).
For GS midis try the recently released Roland Sound Canvas VA (perfect SC-55/88 emulation).
For XG midis try to find Yamaha S-YXG50 softsynth (works only with XP) or its recently released Portable VSTi version. Not so high quality by today standards but completely XG compatible.
Ps:
All of them work with Midiplayer.
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