Internet Radio sounds better than ripped CDs. Why

I have to turn up the volume a good 10dB in order to achieve the same volume level as IR. Both inputs are set to the default level of "0" in the AVR

Then the IR radio is probably compressed - it usually is. If if it sounds better than perhaps the genre is suited to compression and added distortion (rock, punk and alternative tend to sound better to most ears when it is somewhat compressed) The dead giveaway is when it sounds louder and more agressively punchy or detailed than the original ....a lot of modern re-mastering further compresses already compressed music.

An easy way to tell is to listen at low volumes an dsee if it sounds punchy and detailed and then to turn the volume up loud. If you cannot stand it played loudly (like an assault on the ears) then it is probably compressed and highly distorted with plenty of odd harmonics from clipped waverforms. It is an odd trick but perceptively a compressed distorted track will sound louder when played at low volume levels.

(In teh discussion above, I mean physical compression & distortion of waveforms fudnamental to the music and not CODEC compresssion from mp3 to save file space)

I have to agree with the original post. I'm using Apple lossless codec and through an Airport Express I find the results to be unsatisfactory. On the other hand some internet radio stations such as TSF Jazz which are streamed at 128 kbs sound almost analog in quality. I know that TSF does play some vinyl (I can hear the surface noise) but regardless the majority of the music sounds wonderful. It must be due to the encoding. I will have to investigate other encoding methods other than Apple lossless.

Mat, Do you use the analogue or digital outs of your AE? The Analogue outs of the AE are......just OK.
I run my AE to an external DAC and it sounds better than small dish radio.
Even AFTER I went thru the defaults on the small dish receiver and turned off compression and went to PCM out and used an optical to the SAME DAC as is fed by the AE.
Apple Lossless and FLAC should be equal. BOTH can be used to reconstruct a bit-accurate copy of the original material. They should therefore sound the same, no?

No doubt Internet stations can apply a variety of processing as desired.

Loudness levels vary with IR stations but I find a significant # that normalize their material at a higher level than many or most CDs.

NAtive CDs can ahave a range of average loudness levels with older masters in general having much lower net volumes than newer recordings. Some servers like Windows Media Player provide some ability to match levels during playback to some extent.

Most IR stations match levels as well in that it is not conducive to have various material playing at significantly varying overall levels. Many match at higher levels overall.

What I'm hearing with Apple lossless is a hardness and compressed sound. Whereas a station like TSF Jazz sounds much more open. It's not that I don't hear the compression especially during complex pieces but overall its much more listenable. Since I'm using the analog out, maybe the AE isn't the best for decoding Apple lossless? Or perhaps I need to use error correction when ripping CDs. I don't have much interest in a external DAC at this time. I'm just not interested in spending big bucks on audio any more. In fact I'm really enjoying the mid-fi sound (and convenience) of internet radio and Pandora.