out of interest can wmp convert wav to mp3?
Yup-ish. If you select "Copy to device or CD" and make sure the destination is set to Data CD (or a removable device) then you can click on the "Display Properties and Settings" button and manually set the audio quality. You get wma file, though (well you might have the option to rip to mp3 (under Tools/Options/Copy Music), I'm still on version 9 and never installed any plugins for it... my portable player plays wma and I rip to m4a and use VLC/WinAmp on desktops).