MAGIX Samplitude Vs. Competitors: Unveiling the Top Music Producer

These days, the importance of having a good Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) in your music production arsenal cannot be understated. With the ever-expanding demand for better-quality music, the competition in the DAW market is fierce. However, there is one excellent DAW standing out from the music production market - MAGIX Samplitude.

Samplitude is a music production software, first released in 1992 by the German company MAGIX. This DAW is available for 32/64-bit Windows 10/11 and has a wide range of features that make it suitable for both beginner and experienced music producers. When you search for an appropriate DAW for your music production, you possibly have seen this music production software many times. And you may wonder: is MAGIX Sampltitude really that good?

In this MAGIX Samplitude review, we will discuss its numerous features. By the end, you’ll have a good idea of whether or not this music software is worth your time and money.

Part 1. What Is MAGIX Samplitude?

MAGIX Samplitude is a digital audio workstation that lets you create, edit, and produce professional-quality audio recordings. Since its release, the software has evolved into the most popular DAW among music producers and audio engineers. We will show you its history which demonstrates its fast development in recent 30 years below.

History of Samplitude’s Development

The first version of Samplitude was created for the Amiga platform, and since then, it has become a staple in the music production industry. Today, Samplitude is used by some of the world’s top producers for creating and editing unique musical sounds.

Here’s a quick history timeline of MAGIX Samplitude:

• 1992: MAGIX Samplitude is released.
• 1995: Samplitude released version for Microsoft Windows 3.1
• 1998: Samplitude 2496 version is released with a new interface and improved workflow and supports 24-bit recording with sample rates of up to 96 kHz.
• 2002: Samplitude Professional is released, aimed at professional producers and engineers.
• 2005: Samplitude version 8.0 was released.
• 2006: Samplitude 9.0 was presented with a de-esser, advanced dual CPU support, and VSTi manager.
• 2011: Samplitude Pro X with 64-bit system requirement. Since its release, the Pro X version has been further upgraded into Pro X2, Pro X3, Pro X4, Pro X5, Pro X6, and Pro X7.

The Difference Between Samplitude Pro X’s Three Versions

As presented above, the newest version of Samplitude is Pro X which offers three popular versions for purchase, each with its own unique set of specifications and features:

• Samplitude Pro X: This DAW version includes 47 virtual instruments and the main features.
• Samplitude Pro X Suite: This version comes with all the Samplitude Pro X7 features, a copy of the audio editor Sound Forge Pro 11 audio editor, a 70 GB soundset for independent instruments, and five additional VSTs.
• Samplitude Pro X365: A subscription-based version that includes all the Samplified Pro X7 features, a Spectra Layers Pro 5, and a visual, audio editor spectral analysis.

Part 2. MAGIX Samplitude Review

As we have mentioned in the beginning, MAGIX Samplitude is a perfect and great choice for both beginner and advanced users. Then what features make it?

Below we’ve provided a quick review of MAGIX Samplitude to give you a better idea of the software.

Price

MAGIX Samplitude is available for purchase from the MAGIX website. The Pro X7 version costs $299.00 as a one-time purchase, the Pro X365 costs $14.99/month, and the Suite edition costs $419.00.

Features

• The Core Feature Set: MAGIX Samplitude Pro X7 features include up to 384kHz 32-bit recording, advanced MIDI editing, 999 tracks, virtual instrument support, ultra-low-latency recording, non-destructive audio editing, and 256 physical inputs.

• The Object Editor: The Object Editor provides control over your plug-ins and can assign EQ and time/pitch settings to your clips to make the automation process easier. You can also easily cut and record your audio recordings.

• Amplitude Bundles Melodyne 4 Essential: Samplitude Pro X7 supports Melodyne 4 Essential with ARA technology that helps with pitch correction on a single track without sending it out and back in again.

• Virtual Instruments: The software comes with 47 virtual instruments (both classic and modern), spurring musicians on to new ideas for creating ethereal musical sounds.
• The Mixer View: Samplitude offers a mixer view that appears in a separate window, making it easy to access the built-in parametric EQ and plug-ins.
• Vocal Recording Correction: The software offers the Vocal Tune 2 feature to quickly correct your voice recordings. Additionally, you can adjust your audio recordings in detail using the pitch curves and practical waveform display.
• A Faster Workflow With ARA2 Support: The new ARA2-compatible plug-ins allow you to edit audio files faster and more efficiently. You can create seamless clip borders, perform multiple tasks at the same time on different tracks, and work with the interface more intuitively.

Minimum System Requirements

To run MAGIX Samplitude smoothly, your computer must meet the following minimum system requirements:

• Windows: 8 or 10.
• Processor: Intel Dual-core processor with 1.5 GHz.
• RAM: 2 GB for 32-bit and 4 GB for 64-bit.
• Storage Space: 2 GB of free hard disk space.
• Sound Card: Must be compatible with ASIO.
• Graphic Card: Onboard, minimum 1280 x 768 resolution.

Review on the Third-Party Website

Samplitude has been well-received by critics on the platforms like PCMag, Softexia, and Top Ten Reviews, with many praising its ease of use, powerful features, and great sound quality.

However, the software has not received any ratings or scores on the G2, a well-known software review platform. This means the users have yet to review MAGIX Samplitude Pro X7 on this platform.

Part 3. Video - MAGIX Samplitude Pro X7, Testing the Features

To help you better understand the features of MAGIX Samplitude Pro X7, we prepared a video which tests the functions. You can watch it to better make the decision whether Samplitude Pro X7 worths your time and money.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxzjnWRvfrk

Conclusion

MAGIX Samplitude is advanced audio software with almost every element you can think of when it comes to editing music. All in all, the software has an impressive scope and can prove to be a versatile tool if you are a multi-instrument musician looking to produce your own music in various styles.

In this article, we’ve provided an in-depth review of MAGIX Samplitude Pro X7 to help you understand the program in detail. We discussed what the software is, its history, and the difference between its latest three versions.

Additionally, we explored the pricing plan of MAGIX Samplitude Pro X and its various features. We hope you found this review helpful in deciding whether or not to purchase this software.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Next-Gen Mac Audio Splitting Suite: 2024 Upgraded Features

Top Audio Splitter on Mac in 2024

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are times when you need to split audio files with the use of your Mac. The fastest and best way to do the task is with the use of an audio splitter for Mac. There are lots of programs made to split audio tracks. If you are looking for the best free apps for the Mac, then you are on the right page. Below are the top audio splitters for Mac users.

Part 1. Recommended Best Audio Splitting Tool: Wondershare Filmora

Although widely known as the best video editing software for beginners, Wondershare Filmora video editor for Mac also serves as a great audio editing tool. It can split, trim, fade-in or out, change the speed of your audio files, etc.

One surprising feature this tool offers is its multi-audio track feature. Sometimes we need to add not just background music, but also additional voiceovers for a home video we create. It is almost impossible to add both two audio tracks to a video at the same time. However, by using Filmora, you will be able to add up to 3 audio tracks at a time. That means your voiceover, background music, even some funny or emotional sound effects can be added to a video clip simultaneously with one click of the button. Download a free trial version to try it right now:

Below is a brief video introduction to this amazing program:

If you are Windows users, check this tutorial instead.

Part 2. Five Best Audio Trimming Tools You Can Choose

Below are the top 5 audio splitters for Mac devices you can choose to use. Read on to take a close look at them.

1. Mp3splt (Mac)

Mp3splt(Mac) is one of the best audio splitter software available. It is open-source software that has the ability to split MP3 and Ogg Vorbis audio files. It is not only useful to split large MP3 files into smaller files or to divide entire albums into individual tracks, but also easy to use. You just need to select a start and end time position.

The best thing about Mp3splt is that it doesn’t decode the file during the splitting process, which avoids loss due to digital degeneration. If you need to split an album, you can manually input the split points and the filenames, or you can get them through CDDB or .CUE files. The audio splitter Mac software also supports automatic silence split that can be utilized to adjust split points as well as supporting ID3v1 and ID3v2 tags. It is also available for Windows and Linux users.

2. Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware

Another free audio splitting software running on Mac computer that you can use is Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware. It can be used to split MP3 files into smaller files in just a couple of seconds. It preserves the tags and the sound quality of the files while splitting them. It also allows batch splitting, which is good if you have several audio files that you need to split. To split audio files, you can select by time or number of pieces. You can also choose the start and end time to split.

Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware has a playback feature that allows you to play the audio file and adjust its volume. The audio splitter Mac software is compatible with Mac OSX 10.4.x or 10.5.x with at least 512 MB of physical RAM. The only downside is that it can only split audio files that are unprotected or DRM-free.

3. MP3TrueEdit for Mac

MP3TrueEdit is a simple audio splitter Mac tool that has been designed to edit MP3 audio files. While it costs $11.99 on the Mac App Store, you can download and try it for free. The developers have made the app to split or edit files without the need to decompress and recompress the audio. It guarantees that there is no loss in the quality. It is also designed to protect the audio file from becoming corrupt or invalid during the splitting process.

MP3TrueEdit is more than just an audio splitter Mac software. It is an audio editing tool that allows you to edit audio files. It can also be used to record meetings, talks or lectures so that you don’t have to miss a word. You can also record band practice sessions or choir rehearsals. Then you can edit the tempo or pitch of the recording to suit your needs.

4. MP3 Trimmer (Mac)

MP3 Trimmer (Mac) is a quite easy to use audio splitter Mac tool. Not only does it allow you to split MP3 files, it can also be used to edit, join, repair, analyze audio files, and a lot more. There’s no need to re-encode and convert file formats with the use of various applications. All you need is the MP3 Trimmer if you want to remove portions of your MP3 files without losing the quality.

With the MP3 Trimmer, you will be able to remove the undesired portion of the audio file, add some fade-in/fade-out effects, change gain and add silence. If you have a couple of large audio files that needs to be split, then you can benefit from the batch-edit feature of the MP3 Trimmer. It also has built-in tools that will help you analyze and repair broken audio files. It is free to use as long as you want.

5. AudioSlicer for Mac

AudioSlicer is a Cocoa GUI app for Mac OS X. It’s designed to find all the silences in an MP3 file. It also allows you to split the audio file and tag them properly. While there are other audio splitter Mac apps that can do the tasks automatically according to specific criteria, AudioSlicer displays the silences within the specified duration. It allows you to listen to the audio before and after the silence. Then you can decide if you want to do the split at that point. Splitting of the file is done without any loss to the quality because there is no decoding or re-encoding of the audio file during the process. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 and above and supports both Intel Macs and PowerPC.

That’s the best audio trimming software for Mac. The most recommended is Wondershare Filmora for Mac. If you have other good choices, welcome to share with us.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are times when you need to split audio files with the use of your Mac. The fastest and best way to do the task is with the use of an audio splitter for Mac. There are lots of programs made to split audio tracks. If you are looking for the best free apps for the Mac, then you are on the right page. Below are the top audio splitters for Mac users.

Part 1. Recommended Best Audio Splitting Tool: Wondershare Filmora

Although widely known as the best video editing software for beginners, Wondershare Filmora video editor for Mac also serves as a great audio editing tool. It can split, trim, fade-in or out, change the speed of your audio files, etc.

One surprising feature this tool offers is its multi-audio track feature. Sometimes we need to add not just background music, but also additional voiceovers for a home video we create. It is almost impossible to add both two audio tracks to a video at the same time. However, by using Filmora, you will be able to add up to 3 audio tracks at a time. That means your voiceover, background music, even some funny or emotional sound effects can be added to a video clip simultaneously with one click of the button. Download a free trial version to try it right now:

Below is a brief video introduction to this amazing program:

If you are Windows users, check this tutorial instead.

Part 2. Five Best Audio Trimming Tools You Can Choose

Below are the top 5 audio splitters for Mac devices you can choose to use. Read on to take a close look at them.

1. Mp3splt (Mac)

Mp3splt(Mac) is one of the best audio splitter software available. It is open-source software that has the ability to split MP3 and Ogg Vorbis audio files. It is not only useful to split large MP3 files into smaller files or to divide entire albums into individual tracks, but also easy to use. You just need to select a start and end time position.

The best thing about Mp3splt is that it doesn’t decode the file during the splitting process, which avoids loss due to digital degeneration. If you need to split an album, you can manually input the split points and the filenames, or you can get them through CDDB or .CUE files. The audio splitter Mac software also supports automatic silence split that can be utilized to adjust split points as well as supporting ID3v1 and ID3v2 tags. It is also available for Windows and Linux users.

2. Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware

Another free audio splitting software running on Mac computer that you can use is Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware. It can be used to split MP3 files into smaller files in just a couple of seconds. It preserves the tags and the sound quality of the files while splitting them. It also allows batch splitting, which is good if you have several audio files that you need to split. To split audio files, you can select by time or number of pieces. You can also choose the start and end time to split.

Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware has a playback feature that allows you to play the audio file and adjust its volume. The audio splitter Mac software is compatible with Mac OSX 10.4.x or 10.5.x with at least 512 MB of physical RAM. The only downside is that it can only split audio files that are unprotected or DRM-free.

3. MP3TrueEdit for Mac

MP3TrueEdit is a simple audio splitter Mac tool that has been designed to edit MP3 audio files. While it costs $11.99 on the Mac App Store, you can download and try it for free. The developers have made the app to split or edit files without the need to decompress and recompress the audio. It guarantees that there is no loss in the quality. It is also designed to protect the audio file from becoming corrupt or invalid during the splitting process.

MP3TrueEdit is more than just an audio splitter Mac software. It is an audio editing tool that allows you to edit audio files. It can also be used to record meetings, talks or lectures so that you don’t have to miss a word. You can also record band practice sessions or choir rehearsals. Then you can edit the tempo or pitch of the recording to suit your needs.

4. MP3 Trimmer (Mac)

MP3 Trimmer (Mac) is a quite easy to use audio splitter Mac tool. Not only does it allow you to split MP3 files, it can also be used to edit, join, repair, analyze audio files, and a lot more. There’s no need to re-encode and convert file formats with the use of various applications. All you need is the MP3 Trimmer if you want to remove portions of your MP3 files without losing the quality.

With the MP3 Trimmer, you will be able to remove the undesired portion of the audio file, add some fade-in/fade-out effects, change gain and add silence. If you have a couple of large audio files that needs to be split, then you can benefit from the batch-edit feature of the MP3 Trimmer. It also has built-in tools that will help you analyze and repair broken audio files. It is free to use as long as you want.

5. AudioSlicer for Mac

AudioSlicer is a Cocoa GUI app for Mac OS X. It’s designed to find all the silences in an MP3 file. It also allows you to split the audio file and tag them properly. While there are other audio splitter Mac apps that can do the tasks automatically according to specific criteria, AudioSlicer displays the silences within the specified duration. It allows you to listen to the audio before and after the silence. Then you can decide if you want to do the split at that point. Splitting of the file is done without any loss to the quality because there is no decoding or re-encoding of the audio file during the process. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 and above and supports both Intel Macs and PowerPC.

That’s the best audio trimming software for Mac. The most recommended is Wondershare Filmora for Mac. If you have other good choices, welcome to share with us.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are times when you need to split audio files with the use of your Mac. The fastest and best way to do the task is with the use of an audio splitter for Mac. There are lots of programs made to split audio tracks. If you are looking for the best free apps for the Mac, then you are on the right page. Below are the top audio splitters for Mac users.

Part 1. Recommended Best Audio Splitting Tool: Wondershare Filmora

Although widely known as the best video editing software for beginners, Wondershare Filmora video editor for Mac also serves as a great audio editing tool. It can split, trim, fade-in or out, change the speed of your audio files, etc.

One surprising feature this tool offers is its multi-audio track feature. Sometimes we need to add not just background music, but also additional voiceovers for a home video we create. It is almost impossible to add both two audio tracks to a video at the same time. However, by using Filmora, you will be able to add up to 3 audio tracks at a time. That means your voiceover, background music, even some funny or emotional sound effects can be added to a video clip simultaneously with one click of the button. Download a free trial version to try it right now:

Below is a brief video introduction to this amazing program:

If you are Windows users, check this tutorial instead.

Part 2. Five Best Audio Trimming Tools You Can Choose

Below are the top 5 audio splitters for Mac devices you can choose to use. Read on to take a close look at them.

1. Mp3splt (Mac)

Mp3splt(Mac) is one of the best audio splitter software available. It is open-source software that has the ability to split MP3 and Ogg Vorbis audio files. It is not only useful to split large MP3 files into smaller files or to divide entire albums into individual tracks, but also easy to use. You just need to select a start and end time position.

The best thing about Mp3splt is that it doesn’t decode the file during the splitting process, which avoids loss due to digital degeneration. If you need to split an album, you can manually input the split points and the filenames, or you can get them through CDDB or .CUE files. The audio splitter Mac software also supports automatic silence split that can be utilized to adjust split points as well as supporting ID3v1 and ID3v2 tags. It is also available for Windows and Linux users.

2. Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware

Another free audio splitting software running on Mac computer that you can use is Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware. It can be used to split MP3 files into smaller files in just a couple of seconds. It preserves the tags and the sound quality of the files while splitting them. It also allows batch splitting, which is good if you have several audio files that you need to split. To split audio files, you can select by time or number of pieces. You can also choose the start and end time to split.

Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware has a playback feature that allows you to play the audio file and adjust its volume. The audio splitter Mac software is compatible with Mac OSX 10.4.x or 10.5.x with at least 512 MB of physical RAM. The only downside is that it can only split audio files that are unprotected or DRM-free.

3. MP3TrueEdit for Mac

MP3TrueEdit is a simple audio splitter Mac tool that has been designed to edit MP3 audio files. While it costs $11.99 on the Mac App Store, you can download and try it for free. The developers have made the app to split or edit files without the need to decompress and recompress the audio. It guarantees that there is no loss in the quality. It is also designed to protect the audio file from becoming corrupt or invalid during the splitting process.

MP3TrueEdit is more than just an audio splitter Mac software. It is an audio editing tool that allows you to edit audio files. It can also be used to record meetings, talks or lectures so that you don’t have to miss a word. You can also record band practice sessions or choir rehearsals. Then you can edit the tempo or pitch of the recording to suit your needs.

4. MP3 Trimmer (Mac)

MP3 Trimmer (Mac) is a quite easy to use audio splitter Mac tool. Not only does it allow you to split MP3 files, it can also be used to edit, join, repair, analyze audio files, and a lot more. There’s no need to re-encode and convert file formats with the use of various applications. All you need is the MP3 Trimmer if you want to remove portions of your MP3 files without losing the quality.

With the MP3 Trimmer, you will be able to remove the undesired portion of the audio file, add some fade-in/fade-out effects, change gain and add silence. If you have a couple of large audio files that needs to be split, then you can benefit from the batch-edit feature of the MP3 Trimmer. It also has built-in tools that will help you analyze and repair broken audio files. It is free to use as long as you want.

5. AudioSlicer for Mac

AudioSlicer is a Cocoa GUI app for Mac OS X. It’s designed to find all the silences in an MP3 file. It also allows you to split the audio file and tag them properly. While there are other audio splitter Mac apps that can do the tasks automatically according to specific criteria, AudioSlicer displays the silences within the specified duration. It allows you to listen to the audio before and after the silence. Then you can decide if you want to do the split at that point. Splitting of the file is done without any loss to the quality because there is no decoding or re-encoding of the audio file during the process. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 and above and supports both Intel Macs and PowerPC.

That’s the best audio trimming software for Mac. The most recommended is Wondershare Filmora for Mac. If you have other good choices, welcome to share with us.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

There are times when you need to split audio files with the use of your Mac. The fastest and best way to do the task is with the use of an audio splitter for Mac. There are lots of programs made to split audio tracks. If you are looking for the best free apps for the Mac, then you are on the right page. Below are the top audio splitters for Mac users.

Part 1. Recommended Best Audio Splitting Tool: Wondershare Filmora

Although widely known as the best video editing software for beginners, Wondershare Filmora video editor for Mac also serves as a great audio editing tool. It can split, trim, fade-in or out, change the speed of your audio files, etc.

One surprising feature this tool offers is its multi-audio track feature. Sometimes we need to add not just background music, but also additional voiceovers for a home video we create. It is almost impossible to add both two audio tracks to a video at the same time. However, by using Filmora, you will be able to add up to 3 audio tracks at a time. That means your voiceover, background music, even some funny or emotional sound effects can be added to a video clip simultaneously with one click of the button. Download a free trial version to try it right now:

Below is a brief video introduction to this amazing program:

If you are Windows users, check this tutorial instead.

Part 2. Five Best Audio Trimming Tools You Can Choose

Below are the top 5 audio splitters for Mac devices you can choose to use. Read on to take a close look at them.

1. Mp3splt (Mac)

Mp3splt(Mac) is one of the best audio splitter software available. It is open-source software that has the ability to split MP3 and Ogg Vorbis audio files. It is not only useful to split large MP3 files into smaller files or to divide entire albums into individual tracks, but also easy to use. You just need to select a start and end time position.

The best thing about Mp3splt is that it doesn’t decode the file during the splitting process, which avoids loss due to digital degeneration. If you need to split an album, you can manually input the split points and the filenames, or you can get them through CDDB or .CUE files. The audio splitter Mac software also supports automatic silence split that can be utilized to adjust split points as well as supporting ID3v1 and ID3v2 tags. It is also available for Windows and Linux users.

2. Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware

Another free audio splitting software running on Mac computer that you can use is Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware. It can be used to split MP3 files into smaller files in just a couple of seconds. It preserves the tags and the sound quality of the files while splitting them. It also allows batch splitting, which is good if you have several audio files that you need to split. To split audio files, you can select by time or number of pieces. You can also choose the start and end time to split.

Macsome Audio Splitter Freeware has a playback feature that allows you to play the audio file and adjust its volume. The audio splitter Mac software is compatible with Mac OSX 10.4.x or 10.5.x with at least 512 MB of physical RAM. The only downside is that it can only split audio files that are unprotected or DRM-free.

3. MP3TrueEdit for Mac

MP3TrueEdit is a simple audio splitter Mac tool that has been designed to edit MP3 audio files. While it costs $11.99 on the Mac App Store, you can download and try it for free. The developers have made the app to split or edit files without the need to decompress and recompress the audio. It guarantees that there is no loss in the quality. It is also designed to protect the audio file from becoming corrupt or invalid during the splitting process.

MP3TrueEdit is more than just an audio splitter Mac software. It is an audio editing tool that allows you to edit audio files. It can also be used to record meetings, talks or lectures so that you don’t have to miss a word. You can also record band practice sessions or choir rehearsals. Then you can edit the tempo or pitch of the recording to suit your needs.

4. MP3 Trimmer (Mac)

MP3 Trimmer (Mac) is a quite easy to use audio splitter Mac tool. Not only does it allow you to split MP3 files, it can also be used to edit, join, repair, analyze audio files, and a lot more. There’s no need to re-encode and convert file formats with the use of various applications. All you need is the MP3 Trimmer if you want to remove portions of your MP3 files without losing the quality.

With the MP3 Trimmer, you will be able to remove the undesired portion of the audio file, add some fade-in/fade-out effects, change gain and add silence. If you have a couple of large audio files that needs to be split, then you can benefit from the batch-edit feature of the MP3 Trimmer. It also has built-in tools that will help you analyze and repair broken audio files. It is free to use as long as you want.

5. AudioSlicer for Mac

AudioSlicer is a Cocoa GUI app for Mac OS X. It’s designed to find all the silences in an MP3 file. It also allows you to split the audio file and tag them properly. While there are other audio splitter Mac apps that can do the tasks automatically according to specific criteria, AudioSlicer displays the silences within the specified duration. It allows you to listen to the audio before and after the silence. Then you can decide if you want to do the split at that point. Splitting of the file is done without any loss to the quality because there is no decoding or re-encoding of the audio file during the process. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.3 and above and supports both Intel Macs and PowerPC.

That’s the best audio trimming software for Mac. The most recommended is Wondershare Filmora for Mac. If you have other good choices, welcome to share with us.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

The Sound Choice Handbook: Understanding & Selecting Superior Audio Formats

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.

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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.

---

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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