Oh, dear.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20029913-47.html
via: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?p=607150
My take.
The information content of losslessly compressed file and the original is identical.
Try comparing the md5 hash of the source, and the expanded compressed file, or do a bitwise diff to see if that is the case.
(Poor analogy: a word file reads the same, if came as a .doc file or contained in a .zip file)
I think he's confusing the data container with the playback system, or succumbing to expectation bias:
So while lossless audio compression (FLAC or Apple Lossless for example) can be "expanded" to produce an exact digital duplicate of the original audio stream, that's not necessarily the same thing as sounding exactly like an uncompressed WAV file or a CD. To my ears lossless files add a glare or edge to the music and flatten the soundstage. Please don't misunderstand, I think FLAC or Apple Lossless sound perfectly fine, just not on par with a CD, when played on a high-end audio system.
Or, cynically, he has written an inflammatory article to generate page hits and a comment flame war.
Are you listening Tyll?