Oak is different from softwoods in regards to dense grain (ie close grain) versus density (dry weight/volume) or specific gravity. The annual growth of oak produces a solid dense early wood ring and a porous,less dense late wood ring. So wide early wood bands, in oak, produce a higher specific gravity hard strong wood. The early wood rings in softwood are less dense than late wood rings so the stronger softwood has a higher ring per inch count.
So dense grain does not always imply better denser wood. Language sets up the misunderstnding