Internet Radio sounds better than ripped CDs. Why

I'm with Jax2, I'm dumbfounded too.

Is the internet radio station doing equalization?

Maybe it was the Cuervo Gold and the fine Colombian!!!!

The ripping program you used might be at fault here.Have you bit corrected the files using a ripping program such as EAC or Foobar 2000.Rips that are not offset by your ripping drives default factory offsets,will sound better than the original badly pressed CD,but if you are not correcting for the bits displaced by the ripping drive your rips will sound worse.

Radio stations will process the sound - so you may like their processing...

Thanks for the replies guys. I ripped the files in Apple Lossless using iTunes. I'm wirelessly streaming the audio from my PC to a SB3 using it's coax digital out to a digital input on my Integra 8.8 AVR, so I'm using the built-in dacs on the Integra for both Internet Radio & my music files. So in essense, all things are equal.

I'm taking delivery today on a Rowland Concerto integrated. If I can borrow a friend's dac, I'll do a comparison.

Shadorne - My friend has the same theory as you do regarding the processing of IR stations. Perhaps that's the answer.

I'll post again after I listen to the Rowland. Thanks again.