Discovering Your Ideal Audio Format: A Step-by-Step Strategy

How to Choose Best Audio Formats

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

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Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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“Innovative Sound Editing - Top 4 Applications Redefining Music Production on Mac “

A good music editor for your Mac can do everything you need: record voiceover files, cut, delete, insert audio clips, add voice effects, add sound effects, perform a spectrographic analysis, and much more. And why do you need to do those things with a music editor? Some of the most common music editor projects include:

• Find music online and edit to share to phone and other devices
• Trim audio and music files
• Create custom ringtones
• Create and share custom music and audio files
• Add music and sound effects to video files

So how do you choose a music editor for Mac that can do everything you want? In this article, we will share with you some music editors that you can use on Mac computer. Let’s move on.

Section 1. Free Music Editors for Mac

Free-to-use is great, especially when you get all the performance and features you need in a music editor. Two free music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

1. Audio Editor: OcenAudio

OcenAudio has a very extensive toolkit of audio editing capabilities and tools. Still, one of its best features is that it’s easy on your memory: you can edit even very large files without requiring external memory resources.

OcenAudio supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, and many other audio formats.

2. MP3 Editor: Audacity

Audacity is free and also has to go for it, a simple and intuitive interface that is easy for beginners. It also has a surprisingly extensive list of features, options, and effects, including spectrographic analysis, undo/redo function, and more.

Audacity supports many formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, and OGG.

Section 2. Professional Quality Music Editors for Mac

Pay music editing programs for Mac offer a serious boost in performance and an increased number of supported formats and output options.

Two pay music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

3. Music Editor: Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac [Free]

Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac is often aimed at users who want to edit videos, but this program also offers professional quality performance for editing music and audio. Novice users will appreciate the price and the intuitive interface that allows a gentle learning curve.

Advanced users will like the extensive features and supported formats, including a music library feature. It has slightly fewer features and supported formats than Adobe Audition, but if you don’t need those extra bells and whistles, this is the music editor for Mac for you.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

If you are using a windows, check this tutorial instead: Windows Video Editing Software .

4. Sound Editor: Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition comes with a high price at $20/mo. However, users who demand the best will find the cost worth it for a license. It has the most extensive audio and music editing toolset, and it supports the widest range of formats.

A complete range of tutorials also supports adobe Audition to help you get the most from your investment. The fact it takes a while to work through the tutorials and get up to speed might be the only drawback.

Section 3. How to choose Music Editor for Mac users?

Choosing a music editor for Mac, including the ability to edit and output to MP3 and MP4 formats, depends entirely on your needs. If your needs are modest and limited features or functionality work for you, several free-to-use options will get the job done. If you need more robust functionality and professional quality, a pay program will offer more satisfying performance. Keep in mind the following questions when making your choice:

• How often do I need to edit music and audio?
• Do I need simple trim and edit features, or also audio effects?
• What formats are my source files, and what formats do I want to output to?
• What is my budget, and how can I balance performance and price?

With Filmora, you can edit music and audio files with ease. Besides basic cutting features, you can apply fade-in and fade-out effects, adjust the audio volume. What’s more, you can remove the background noise in the audio to get a clear sound.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

So how do you choose a music editor for Mac that can do everything you want? In this article, we will share with you some music editors that you can use on Mac computer. Let’s move on.

Section 1. Free Music Editors for Mac

Free-to-use is great, especially when you get all the performance and features you need in a music editor. Two free music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

1. Audio Editor: OcenAudio

OcenAudio has a very extensive toolkit of audio editing capabilities and tools. Still, one of its best features is that it’s easy on your memory: you can edit even very large files without requiring external memory resources.

OcenAudio supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, and many other audio formats.

2. MP3 Editor: Audacity

Audacity is free and also has to go for it, a simple and intuitive interface that is easy for beginners. It also has a surprisingly extensive list of features, options, and effects, including spectrographic analysis, undo/redo function, and more.

Audacity supports many formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, and OGG.

Section 2. Professional Quality Music Editors for Mac

Pay music editing programs for Mac offer a serious boost in performance and an increased number of supported formats and output options.

Two pay music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

3. Music Editor: Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac [Free]

Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac is often aimed at users who want to edit videos, but this program also offers professional quality performance for editing music and audio. Novice users will appreciate the price and the intuitive interface that allows a gentle learning curve.

Advanced users will like the extensive features and supported formats, including a music library feature. It has slightly fewer features and supported formats than Adobe Audition, but if you don’t need those extra bells and whistles, this is the music editor for Mac for you.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

If you are using a windows, check this tutorial instead: Windows Video Editing Software .

4. Sound Editor: Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition comes with a high price at $20/mo. However, users who demand the best will find the cost worth it for a license. It has the most extensive audio and music editing toolset, and it supports the widest range of formats.

A complete range of tutorials also supports adobe Audition to help you get the most from your investment. The fact it takes a while to work through the tutorials and get up to speed might be the only drawback.

Section 3. How to choose Music Editor for Mac users?

Choosing a music editor for Mac, including the ability to edit and output to MP3 and MP4 formats, depends entirely on your needs. If your needs are modest and limited features or functionality work for you, several free-to-use options will get the job done. If you need more robust functionality and professional quality, a pay program will offer more satisfying performance. Keep in mind the following questions when making your choice:

• How often do I need to edit music and audio?
• Do I need simple trim and edit features, or also audio effects?
• What formats are my source files, and what formats do I want to output to?
• What is my budget, and how can I balance performance and price?

With Filmora, you can edit music and audio files with ease. Besides basic cutting features, you can apply fade-in and fade-out effects, adjust the audio volume. What’s more, you can remove the background noise in the audio to get a clear sound.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

So how do you choose a music editor for Mac that can do everything you want? In this article, we will share with you some music editors that you can use on Mac computer. Let’s move on.

Section 1. Free Music Editors for Mac

Free-to-use is great, especially when you get all the performance and features you need in a music editor. Two free music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

1. Audio Editor: OcenAudio

OcenAudio has a very extensive toolkit of audio editing capabilities and tools. Still, one of its best features is that it’s easy on your memory: you can edit even very large files without requiring external memory resources.

OcenAudio supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, and many other audio formats.

2. MP3 Editor: Audacity

Audacity is free and also has to go for it, a simple and intuitive interface that is easy for beginners. It also has a surprisingly extensive list of features, options, and effects, including spectrographic analysis, undo/redo function, and more.

Audacity supports many formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, and OGG.

Section 2. Professional Quality Music Editors for Mac

Pay music editing programs for Mac offer a serious boost in performance and an increased number of supported formats and output options.

Two pay music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

3. Music Editor: Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac [Free]

Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac is often aimed at users who want to edit videos, but this program also offers professional quality performance for editing music and audio. Novice users will appreciate the price and the intuitive interface that allows a gentle learning curve.

Advanced users will like the extensive features and supported formats, including a music library feature. It has slightly fewer features and supported formats than Adobe Audition, but if you don’t need those extra bells and whistles, this is the music editor for Mac for you.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

If you are using a windows, check this tutorial instead: Windows Video Editing Software .

4. Sound Editor: Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition comes with a high price at $20/mo. However, users who demand the best will find the cost worth it for a license. It has the most extensive audio and music editing toolset, and it supports the widest range of formats.

A complete range of tutorials also supports adobe Audition to help you get the most from your investment. The fact it takes a while to work through the tutorials and get up to speed might be the only drawback.

Section 3. How to choose Music Editor for Mac users?

Choosing a music editor for Mac, including the ability to edit and output to MP3 and MP4 formats, depends entirely on your needs. If your needs are modest and limited features or functionality work for you, several free-to-use options will get the job done. If you need more robust functionality and professional quality, a pay program will offer more satisfying performance. Keep in mind the following questions when making your choice:

• How often do I need to edit music and audio?
• Do I need simple trim and edit features, or also audio effects?
• What formats are my source files, and what formats do I want to output to?
• What is my budget, and how can I balance performance and price?

With Filmora, you can edit music and audio files with ease. Besides basic cutting features, you can apply fade-in and fade-out effects, adjust the audio volume. What’s more, you can remove the background noise in the audio to get a clear sound.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

So how do you choose a music editor for Mac that can do everything you want? In this article, we will share with you some music editors that you can use on Mac computer. Let’s move on.

Section 1. Free Music Editors for Mac

Free-to-use is great, especially when you get all the performance and features you need in a music editor. Two free music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

1. Audio Editor: OcenAudio

OcenAudio has a very extensive toolkit of audio editing capabilities and tools. Still, one of its best features is that it’s easy on your memory: you can edit even very large files without requiring external memory resources.

OcenAudio supports MP3, WAV, FLAC, WMA, and many other audio formats.

2. MP3 Editor: Audacity

Audacity is free and also has to go for it, a simple and intuitive interface that is easy for beginners. It also has a surprisingly extensive list of features, options, and effects, including spectrographic analysis, undo/redo function, and more.

Audacity supports many formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP2, MP3, and OGG.

Section 2. Professional Quality Music Editors for Mac

Pay music editing programs for Mac offer a serious boost in performance and an increased number of supported formats and output options.

Two pay music and audio editors for Mac we recommend are:

3. Music Editor: Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac [Free]

Wondershare Filmora Video & Audio Editor for Mac is often aimed at users who want to edit videos, but this program also offers professional quality performance for editing music and audio. Novice users will appreciate the price and the intuitive interface that allows a gentle learning curve.

Advanced users will like the extensive features and supported formats, including a music library feature. It has slightly fewer features and supported formats than Adobe Audition, but if you don’t need those extra bells and whistles, this is the music editor for Mac for you.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

If you are using a windows, check this tutorial instead: Windows Video Editing Software .

4. Sound Editor: Adobe Audition

Adobe Audition comes with a high price at $20/mo. However, users who demand the best will find the cost worth it for a license. It has the most extensive audio and music editing toolset, and it supports the widest range of formats.

A complete range of tutorials also supports adobe Audition to help you get the most from your investment. The fact it takes a while to work through the tutorials and get up to speed might be the only drawback.

Section 3. How to choose Music Editor for Mac users?

Choosing a music editor for Mac, including the ability to edit and output to MP3 and MP4 formats, depends entirely on your needs. If your needs are modest and limited features or functionality work for you, several free-to-use options will get the job done. If you need more robust functionality and professional quality, a pay program will offer more satisfying performance. Keep in mind the following questions when making your choice:

• How often do I need to edit music and audio?
• Do I need simple trim and edit features, or also audio effects?
• What formats are my source files, and what formats do I want to output to?
• What is my budget, and how can I balance performance and price?

With Filmora, you can edit music and audio files with ease. Besides basic cutting features, you can apply fade-in and fade-out effects, adjust the audio volume. What’s more, you can remove the background noise in the audio to get a clear sound.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy yet powerful editor

Numerous effects to choose from

Detailed tutorials provided by the official channel

Try It Free Try It Free

Essential Online Tools to Refine Your Music with Superior MP3 Processing

Ringtone Maker & MP3 Cutter is a cost-effective application solving the problem for acquiring the latest music online. An online MP3 cutter app supports audio formats such as MP3, WAV, AMR, 3GPP, 3GP and M4A.By having support for different types of music format, this app allows music to be available at any devices. Users can access audio files from their device with the app’s built-in file browser. In this way the clipped music can be used immediately

Other than playing music, users can assign music to their personal contacts. Users can record their voices with the app’s voice record, as well as use them too as ringtones. Assigning a personalized ringtone to a specific contact will help users to identify which person is reaching out to them. The app’s other main feature is the audio cutting. Users can trim recordings or music into a personalized, short audio clip. When clipping audio files, they are displayed in Waveform. A five scaling option is available for use. The app also offers apps from its developer, including Eye Protection, Effect Video - Filters Camera and Voice Changer.

1. Audio Cutter

Audio Cutter allows you to extract an audio track from a video. This is useful when you want to get a soundtrack from a movie or a music video. With an audio cutter, you can cut an audio track in a couple of clicks, right in your browser window. Just upload a file, cut the section you want, and save it to your hard drive.

How to Cut Audio?

1.Choose file

Select the music file you would like to edit: drag and drop your file, or upload it from your hard drive or cloud storage.

2.Adjust intervals

Adjust the start and end of the track by dragging the interval controls or using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

3.Download result

Use several features at once if necessary – shift pitch, change volume or speed. Save music into one of the available output formats depending on your needs or preferences.

2. Audio Cutter Online- Clideo

The tool offers you two ways of trimming MP3 files: you can select the length by moving two markers or by inserting the needed time in seconds. The interface of the audio trimmer is completely intuitive so you won’t encounter any problems while editing your music. There is no need to download and install the MP3 song cutter to your Mac or Windows computer that makes the whole process go much faster. With the tool you can also fade in and fade out your music track, and convert it to any format you might need.

How to Cut MP3 online

STEP 1: Add an audio

Choose a file from any device: PC, Mac, Android or iPhone. It’s also possible to just drop your file to the website page or select it from Dropbox or Google Drive.

STEP 2: Cut uploaded song

Select a part of the audio. MP3 Music Cutter lets you extract or delete it. After that, check the Fade in and Fade out, or Crossfade boxes. Then change the audio format — MP3 is perfect for ringtones.

STEP 3: Download the music

When your file is processed, save it to your laptop, phone or back to cloud storage. Read on the complete guide on the tool to learn more information.

3. AudioTrimmer

Convert any audio or video format to mp3 and edit mp3 metadata with this free online mp3 converter. If you upload a video, the algorithm will extract the audio and let you download it as an mp3. Just choose your local file on your browser and click Next. Our intuitive interface will guide you to create awesome MP3s from your audio or video files in few simple steps. Works on all platforms including mobile phones and tablets!

How to add album artwork to Mp3

With our online mp3 converter, you can easily add album art to your Mp3s:

Choose an mp3, audio or video file from your local drive and press Next.

Edit album metadata, set output quality and upload a cover art in the next screen and then press Convert.

That’s it! Now you can download your newly created Mp3 with embedded album artwork.

4. Kapwing Online Audio Trimmer

With Kapwing’s online audio trimmer you can easily shorten the length of an MP3. This free tool can be used on any iPhone, Android, Tablet or PC with a browser so you can skip downloading software. Podcasters can create snippets of upcoming episodes to share on social media and singers can preview a song online before releasing the full version. In a few clicks, you can also trim and cut your audio to make ringtones, songs, sound effects and more!

How to Trim Audio Online

Step 1. Upload your audio

Get started by uploading an MP3, WAV file from your device or paste a link.

Step 2. Choose start and end times

Drag the ends of the layer from left to right to change when the audio begins and ends. For finer adjustments, click timing and use the up and down arrow keys to select a start and end time. To trim audio from a video, right-click and select detach audio to begin editing.

Step 3. Download and share

When you’re finished, click the dropdown arrow by export video, then click export as MP3 to begin processing your audio.

5. Online Audio Trimmer

Media.io Audio Cutter is among the best audio cutters online for creating ringtones, adding music to video or extracting audio from video. This audio trimmer online works with hundreds of video and audio formats, including MP4, MOV, MTS, VOB, MP3, M4A, OGG , and much more. After loading up the audio file, this program lets you trim by entering the exact playback duration or merely dragging the sliders. It can add audio fade-in and audio fade-out effects to allow smooth transitions, especially when making a ringtone. Additionally, this audio cutter also acts as a YouTube MP3 cutter. Just load a YouTube video URL and fast convert video to MP3. Upload a file and try!

How to Trim Audio Online?

Step 1. Upload Audio File.

Upload an MP3/Audio file you want to cut by clicking the Choose Files button.

Step 2. Cut MP3 Online.

With the MP3 cutter, cut sound by selecting the desired beginning and ending of your audio file. Optionally, apply audio fade in or fade out effects.

Step 3. Download and Save.

Download the trimmed audio file to your local drive or Dropbox. For making ringtone, you can save as MP3.

Conclusion

Online Audio Cutter is an online app that can be used to cut audio tracks right in your browser. Fast and stable, with over 300 supported file formats, fade in and fade out features, ringtone quality presets, our app is also absolutely free.

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