That’s 100% placebo. I’m a professional recording and mixing engineer and have done ABX tests in rooms with speakers that cost as much as a new car and struggled. Not to mention the tens of thousands of dollars in acoustic treatment in those rooms. 320kbps is guaranteed to be indistinguishable from lossless on $100 speakers in what’s likely a horrible sounding room.
It’s just the reality of online content moderation. The good mods/admins are people who are passionate about a topic and want to provide a space for discussion and community building. When it comes to the “power mods” or whatever, like those we saw on reddit who moderated 100+ subs, they’re just in it to stroke their own egos.