i'm going to rip all my old CD's (~3000) and since all my stuff is Apple based, AND drive space is at a premium, i decided to rip them in the AAC format. i know that's not "lossless" - that's ok with me; i don't have the best ear. so i thought i'd try to match the settings Apple Music & iTunes Store uses.

i read that if i used the iTunes/Catalina-Music.app to rip, that these settings are what Apple Music & iTunes Store uses...
- Import Using AAC Encoder
- Setting to iTunes Plus
- Details are 128 kbps (mono) / 256 kbps (stereo), 44.100 kHz, VBR.

to replicate this in dBpoweramp, i chose:
- the Rip to profile of Apple AAC
- target of Quality (VBR)
- set the Quality slider to 256 kbps
- and the dropdown menu under that to LC AAC
- i also set the Ripping Method to Secure & followed the "Setup Guide" for those settings.

i did a test...
the songs ripped directly within the Catalina-Music.app at the above setting showed a "consistent" Bit Rate of "256 kbps (VBR)".
but the same songs ripped in dBpoweramp with the above listed settings shows the Bit Rate varying between 264-292 kbps per song.

QUESTION...
is this just a difference in how the Mac "displays" the bit rates of these two rips, & that they're essentially the same thing?

thanks.