diff --git a/yt_dlp/utils/_utils.py b/yt_dlp/utils/_utils.py
index 462b85355e..7c6dee7cc1 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/utils/_utils.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/utils/_utils.py
@@ -2848,11 +2848,13 @@ def js_to_json(code, vars={}, *, strict=False):
 
 def qualities(quality_ids):
     """ Get a numeric quality value out of a list of possible values """
+    quality_map = {}
+    for index, quality_id in enumerate(quality_ids):
+        quality_map.setdefault(quality_id, index)
+
     def q(qid):
-        try:
-            return quality_ids.index(qid)
-        except ValueError:
-            return -1
+        return quality_map.get(qid, -1)
+
     return q