Noticable sounds Loss from M4a to Mp3

[Sunnbuzz]

First off I'd like to say this was my first conversion from a purchased song from iTunes version 7 to a MP3
I took my protected song from iTunes converted it to M4a with myFairTunes version 6 0.5.8
I then d/l dbpoweramp PLUS the codec (easy to miss if you're new - took me 1hr to figure out why I couldn’t right click and convert my M4a -lol)
I opened dbpoweramp, did not touch any settings and clicked convert
I now have my converted Mp3 and it does not sound good - it sounds like Vinyl being played -light hissing and static
I do not know much about this: These are the settings I saw before it was converted
Target - Quality (vbr) - Estimated Bitrate 160 (medium) Encoding Normal

After Conversion:

Artist: Rachael Starr
Title: Till There Was You (Gabriel & Dresden Club)
Album: Club Culture 3
Track: 9/12
Disc:
Genre: Dance
Year: 2006-12-08T08:00:00Z
Rating:
Composer:
Size: 8.94 MB (9% of original, 10 to 1 compression)
Original Size: 89.49 MB
Length: 8 minutes 51 seconds
Channels: 2 (stereo)
Sample Rate: 44.1 KHz;
Sample Size: 16 bit
Bit Rate: 140 kbps
Encoder: LAME 3.97
Encoder Settings: Variable Bit Rate -V 4 (Medium)
Audio Quality: Medium (Lossy)
Play Count:
Last Played:
Contains: ID Tag [ID3v2.3 (ANSI)]
Channel Mapping: Left, Right
File: 09 Till There Was You (Gabriel & Dre
Type: MP3 Format Sound [.mp3]

EDIT:
I just tried another conversion with
I really could use some help in finding out if I did something wrong or if there is a different way to get a better sounding Mp3, It's hard to believe it should sound so crappy compared to the original
THANKS in advance
Sharon

[Spoon]

Re: Noticable sounds Loss from M4a to Mp3

Try a higher bitrate (quality setting) -v 3 or -v 2

[Sunnbuzz]

Re: Noticable sound Loss from M4a to Mp3

I tried to convert is using "Extreme' and Slow (High Quality) but I'm still getting the same result. I'm starting to think that it could be the song I purchased because iTunes play back has a much lower sound quality compared to Media Player. I find even without using my DFX plug-in that Media Player is about that 30 percent louder (more audio effects can be heard also) So maybe it is just the song. Is there way to play a M4a before converting it and if so what do I need (codecs included)

Where does loss of sound quality start: is it from M4p to M4a or M4a to Mp3 ?

Sorry if this is a stupid question: The original iTunes song M4p is Lossless and after conversion the Mp3 shows as Lossy. Is that because of sound quality loss during conversion ?
THANKS