It may not be evident on computer speakers, but if you listen through good quality headphones the loss in quality due to MP3 compression is quite noticeable.Exalted Erick wrote:The only noticeable difference between the MP3 and WAV version is that the WAV version is much larger.
For sites that allow WAV format uploads, then compress them before making them accessible, (I think YouTube is in this category), make sure that the peal level of your file is just a little below 0dB (You can use the "Normalize" effect and set it to Normalize to -0.3dB) Then upload it in WAV format. Unfortunately uploading will be rather slow, but that should help to make the best sound quality as the file is only being compressed once, not twice.
You can also try using a "low pass filter" set to about 7kHz on your file before uploading it - this can help the sound quality with some MP3 encoders.
For sites that only allow MP3 uploads, select a high bit rate CBR format. The highest quality MP3 format is 300kbps CBR.
If the site does not recompress the file, but just serves it up in the original MP3 format that you upload it, try using 192kbps CBR (Constant Bit Rate).
I can't get rid of the static. I've given up. Nobody has a solution.