[theandrewbailey]

MP3 is a pretty bad codec compared to newer ones, no surprise that you noticed a quality drop. It should only be used for reasons of maximum compatibility.

I was using Ogg Vorbis 20 years ago, and that was a massive step up from MP3. Now, I have FLAC, and convert to 96k Opus for mobile and browser playback. Combined with listening in the car or through subpar headphones, I don't sweat about leaving a lot of quality behind, and the space savings are worth it.