CDs vs HiRes from NAS - weird! CDs vs digital downloads comparable?

OK, this is weird.

I've mostly listened to purchased HiRes content from Qobuz on my Nova or used their app to Chromecast.  Using an old WD MyCloud box which I will replace when I get around to it with something better.

I've got an awful feeling that when I ripped most of my CDs years ago and used iTunes Match for convenience for the iPhone (well before streaming services were so popular) that I may not have ripped them lossless - from memory iTunes used to upload the tracks to 'Match' them with their AAC lossy copies and it took ages on my then 4Mbps/1Mbps connection (down/up).  I rarely use Match since the implementation annoys me but it's ok for the cost of a couple of CDs per annum.

It may just be I've not yet uncovered the drive with the lossless rips on - I literally have dozens of internal/external drives to sift through.

Seeing as I've used both EAC with Windows years ago and XLD on Mac some years ago I must have ripped at least some discs lossless - question is where!

I'd also forgotten that I had a load of CDs stolen when we were burgled just over a decade ago, and have that sinking feeling that many I may have replaced might be remasters or mastered for 'loudness'.

Anyhow, I just got a box of CDs or two from storage and started ripping using the dbPowerAmp demo for Mac.

Something's going awry with the metadata as Twonky seems to mess things up as when I navigate into Artist albums the actual albums have Unknown/Unknown in the Naim app when I select a particular album and get the track listing.  (Has anyone posted anything here on getting the most out of dbPowerAmp?)

Anyhow metadata aside, I've been quietly surprised at how good some of these CD rips sound - I had a compilation of 80's songs and a Madness compilation - hardly reference audiophile choices but I was amazed how good many of these tracks which I know backwards sound.  With many of the Madness tracks the piano really surprised me with subtle rhythmical nuances I'd never appreciated before as well as some notes I'd assumed to be one suddenly split into several consecutive ones.  And instruments sounded just very real.  Weird.  The 80's stuff just sounded very good, perhaps as good as I recall on vinyl albums, as I never really took to CDs and although I had a Naim CD player rarely used it preferring vinyl.

So, to begin with, a turn up for the books - ripped CDs sound excellent on the Nova streamed from a poor NAS.

Another question now intrigues me - I'm not sure many of my HD purchases have sounded as good as these CD rips.  I seem to recall that there have been concerns over audio watermarking of digital downloads/streamed files

http://www.mattmontag.com/musi...ls-audible-watermark

So while my audio purchases from Qobuz may be 'lossless' how can I tell if there is some watermarking that may affect the overall quality???

I was considering buying a CD quality download of something I have on CD already and comparing downloaded vs ripped  - has anyone done this - I'd imagine comparison is fraught with issues such as potential differences in mastering or tinkering for the download/streaming market.