I think it’s, like you said, the good feeling that results from quitting something that you were against. Music sounds better when you own it. You are no longer supporting greedy businesses (and/or fascist supporters). As an aside, I don’t need audiophile standards to enjoy music. My own introduction was listening to old 45 rpm singles on vinyl discs that had scratches, hisses and pops. It was the song that carried it through, not the sound quality.