Why does sound check sound better on iTunes Radio?

[Miguel760]

I noticed this while listening to the Classic Rock station on my iPhone. I use sound eheck with iTunes match on my phone and it doesn't sound nearly as good as it does on iTunes radio, while listening to the same song, purchased from the iTunes store. Kinda weird.

 

[jblongz]

1) The purpose of sound check is to make volume consistent between tracks of various loudness. This is to prevent hearing damage if the next track is substantially louder than the current.

2) Streaming quality over Wifi will usually be better than cellular network.