Convert Audio Between Any Format

Audio files come in dozens of formats, each with different compression methods, quality ceilings, and compatibility profiles. At the highest level, formats split into two camps: lossless (WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC) which preserve every sample exactly, and lossy (MP3, AAC, OGG, OPUS) which discard inaudible data to reduce file size. Choosing the wrong format can mean bloated archives, compatibility failures on target devices, or irreversible quality degradation if you start from a lossy source and re-encode repeatedly.

Use lossless formats for any file you intend to edit, archive, or later re-encode. Starting from WAV or FLAC guarantees that downstream conversions have the maximum possible source quality to work with. Use lossy formats for final delivery where file size matters — streaming, podcast distribution, app assets, and everyday listening. The key rule: always archive lossless, distribute lossy.

• WAV — Best for DAW editing, broadcast delivery, and real-time audio processing.
• FLAC — Best for long-term archiving; 40–60% smaller than WAV with zero quality loss.
• MP3 — The universal fallback; plays everywhere but technically inferior to AAC at the same bitrate.
• AAC — The modern streaming standard; better quality per kilobyte than MP3.
• OGG Vorbis — Patent-free, excellent for games and web audio.
• OPUS — Cutting-edge codec, best quality at very low bitrates (voice, streaming).

Every time you convert between lossy formats (e.g., MP3 → AAC → OGG), you accumulate generation loss — artefacts introduced by each successive compression stage. After two or three re-encodes, the audio can develop a "watery" or phasey quality. The fix is simple: always keep your original lossless master and only generate lossy versions from that master. Never transcode from a transcoded file if you can avoid it.

Bitrate (kbps) determines how much data is used per second of audio — higher bitrate means more detail and larger file size. For music, 192–256 kbps AAC or 320 kbps MP3 is considered transparent (indistinguishable from lossless by most listeners). For speech, 96 kbps is perfectly clear. Sample rate (Hz) sets how many audio snapshots are taken per second. The standard CD rate is 44,100 Hz; video and broadcast use 48,000 Hz. Higher rates (96 kHz, 192 kHz) are useful during recording and mixing but offer no perceptible benefit in final delivery files.

There is no single best format — the right choice depends entirely on your destination: