5 Essential No-Cost Music Amplitude Scaler Tools

When you are listening to music, or to podcast, or some other type of audio files, would it make it enjoyable if the volume was so low at some point that you couldn’t understand anything? Now add another possibility to this very unpleasant imagination – what if the volume was so high at another point that your ears can’t handle it? – Of course, you would stop listening, and you would also not think high of the creator of this content. In other words, this will become the reason why this creator might lose their audiences. Well, sad story for the creator, isn’t it? And, what if YOU were the creator? A little laziness or a failure in paying attention to detail and your content goes to waste!

So, what is the solution? Of course, a little editing! Even if your voice doesn’t sound like it’s worth listening, you can make it happen by normalizing the volume. This actually is the process when a constant amount of gain is applied to the audio recording, bringing the amplitude to a desirable level, which is “the norm” for the project. When this tool is applied to the volume, the whole recording has the same amount of gain across it, every piece is affected the same way, and the relative dynamics are not changed.

With this tool, you have an extra guarantor that people will want to convert to being loyal subscribers, viewers and listeners, because simply, their user experience is now favored, they enjoy a good, edited content.

Actually, we might use audio normalizing when we need to get the maximum volume, but another reason is is when we need to match different volumes.

As in most cases, there is not only one type of audio normalization, so let’s explain what each of them represents: one is a so-called peak normalization, helping adjust the recording based on the highest signal level present in the recording; another is called loudness normalization and it adjusts the recording based on perceived loudness. RMS (Root-Mean-Square), changes the value of all the samples, where their average electrical volume overall is a specified level.

With this knowledge in mind, let’s now move to the topic we are going to cover in this article: let’s discuss 5 best free MP3 volume normalizers. Knowing about them will save you time and equip you with the right ways so that when you are going to need audio normalization, you will choose one of them, bypass exhausting process of the research, and find the free, easy-to-use programs that will help you master your sounds!

So, we chose the following programs as 5 best free MP3 normalizers: Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi.

Wondershare Filmora X

Now, even though we already know how to normalize audio in VLC in the simplest, as well as in the more advanced way, it might be even better if we know some more about normalizing audios in different programs. Something worth discussing is a software called Wondershare Filmora X , which carries out the same task wonderfully. Although, unlike VLC Media Player, it is a real video editor, but don’t panic if you have never laid your hand on editing – it is one of the easiest to use ini the word, operating also both on Mac and Windows, and its interface is utterly understandable for beginners right away. And, actually, it is a qhile that Wondershare Filmora X introduced the feature to normalize the audio for the first time. What to say more - you might want to stop now and download the latest version of Filmora X because now we are about to learn how to normalize audio from the video there – so, tune in!

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

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

When it is done installing, open the software. Now, click and drag the video of which the audio you want to normalize. Now you can select the clip you have chosen – if there are multiple, select all of them, then right-click and choose Detach Audio.

Now if you have this kind of graphic before your eyes, you can be pretty sure without even listening, that the noises are really, really different from each other, which highlights once again how useful audio normalization can be:

Select these files, right-click and choose Adjust Audio. New panel will be opened on left top and there, you will see Audio Normalization – check the box there.

After you have clicked on it, wait until the normalization completes.

Soon, all audio will be normalized, and you will already be able to see on the graphics that the volumes are almost on the same level and when you listen to it, you will make sure that there is no longer apparent difference between how they sound. And from there on, you can save the file you just normalized!

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry-leading video editing software, and it is a timeline-based. Premiere Pro always tries to make its use easier and easier, as new features are rolling out regularly to simplify steps and save time. The very same can be said about normalizing audio files, which is actually pretty easy once mastered in a very short time. That is actually why it used by beginners and professionals alike.

To normalize audio Adobe Premiere Pro, first, import your MP3 there. In the timeline, you will see your files in the sequence, in the sound section. Now, the best way to work on them is increase the track height – for that, you need to double-click on the empty space there, next to the little microphone icon.

Now, the track is high, and you can see more of your track. So, say that one of your MP3’s seems very loud, and another is much quieter. Speaking of the loud one, if you can see on the right that there is some red light, it is not a good sign – meaning that audio went above zero (so-called clipping), so you need to avoid it.

(If you can not see your audio meters, just go to Window menu and choose Audio Meters).

So, here, our goal is to bring our audio clips around -3 – and for it, it’s possible to bring up and down the white line on the track, but it can be pretty time-consuming actually.

So a better way to do it would be next: click on the track and then right-click, find Audio Gain, and choose Normalize Max Peak to…:

Max Peak is basically the loudest, highest peak in the audio clip. So, you can write in -3 and click OK, which will ensure the entire audio waveform will have the gain of it adjusted so that the max peak is at -3. You can proceed to the next track and carry out the exact same process on it too. Then, on Audio Meters on the right again, you will be able to see that both tracks (or more, if you have them) peak at -3. In case you have a lot of clips on the timeline, you can select them all, then go to Audio Gain and normalize all of their max peaks simultaneously, which will save you so much time and help you enormously!

VLC Media Player

VLC is a well-known media player, it is a free-to-use, robust, and feature-packed software that plays a wide range of audio, image, and video files. It is worth noting that it can also play multimedia files directly from extractable devices or the PC and can stream from the most successful websites such as Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and so on.

But there is another magic a simple media player can actually do - we can also normalize volume in VLC Media Player. It is a very handy feature and it works on Windows as well as on Mac. It is very simple, so follow these steps:

You need to have VLC Media Player installed on your device. Once you have it installed, open VLC. Go to the Tools and Preferences and there, check the single box which is next to Normalize volume in Effects. Now, set the level to the one that works best for you. Then, when you are happy with the result, click on Save.

What VLC does is just let adjust the general volume, leaving the specifics out of our control.

If you are not so satisfied with the simple editing and want a little more to get from the editing process on VLC, you can do more with the Audio Effects menu:

Find Tools and in the menu, go to Preferences. The window will open, and you need to select All in Show settings – on the bottom left corner of the window. Then, navigate to Audio, and a little below, click on Filters and highlight it. You also need to check the checkbox next to the Dynamic range compressor.

In the left panel, find Compressor and select it. From now, you can make the changes to the levels as you wish.

Here, concentrate the most on Makeup gain, Threshold, and Ratio. The first one is by which you adjust in quiet sequences to raise the volume, the second will help you reduce louder sequences to even things out, and ratio is the maximum level of all audio within a movie, let’s say.

Attack time and release time can also be very helpful. You can play around with them set them to your liking, and see if it’s better sounding, because actually this will ensure that you have a fluid transition in and out of the scene and there are less sudden, unexpected volume changes.

MP3Gain

MP3Gain is actually the only one in this list which is developed exactly for the task we are discussing in this article. It is an audio normalization software tool. The tool is available on multiple platforms and is free software. It analyzes the MP3 and reversibly changes its volume. The volume can be adjusted for single files or as album where all files would have the same perceived loudness. When applying the tool, there is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

So, to use this software, go and download MP3Gain. Install and open it when it is ready. You will see that your program is absolutely empty and it has a lot of space inside, waiting for you to upload some file(s)…

Now, you can either choose adding files manually, with you choosing each of them, but let’s say you have an album (which would be more comfortable, needless to say) in which you want to change the volume of all MP3’s. So, in this case, you can choose Add Folder, and when the window opens, choose the folder full of your MP3’s – all your files will be added in the program.

Now, find the Target “Normal” Volume above the files, and fill in the gap, if you will, or just use default dB. Then, click Album Analysis, and the process will start.

The software will show you the volume of each of the file, and then you will need to just click on Track Gain.

Now, wait for the process to be completed, and then you will see that the volumes changed for each of your files – so, it’s done!

Movavi

Powerful multimedia software for creating and editing videos – this is Movavi. It packs lots of video and audio editing power into a simple interface. On their official web-site, the program is described as: “An all-in-one video maker: an editor, converter, screen recorder, and more. Perfect for remote work and distance learning.” So, you can go and download the program, and learn audio normalization there very easily!

Install and open the program and then proceed directly to Adding Files. After having chosen your file, you drag and drop it in the timeline sequence.

If the audio is uneven, now double-click on the audio track, which will open the Clip Properties window. You will see the Normalize box, which you need to check. Doing this will even out the sound level for the whole track.

To save the result, click Export, choose the format, folder and name for your file, and then click Start, so your file can be exported.

So, it’s done – now you know a whole lot more about audio normalization, its types, why and when should we use it, and which are the 5 best free MP3 normalizers, along with the detailed guidelines on how to work with those tools to have your desired results. Let’s hope that you will be able to choose from Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi, and make your user experience so wonderful, and shareable!

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

When it is done installing, open the software. Now, click and drag the video of which the audio you want to normalize. Now you can select the clip you have chosen – if there are multiple, select all of them, then right-click and choose Detach Audio.

Now if you have this kind of graphic before your eyes, you can be pretty sure without even listening, that the noises are really, really different from each other, which highlights once again how useful audio normalization can be:

Select these files, right-click and choose Adjust Audio. New panel will be opened on left top and there, you will see Audio Normalization – check the box there.

After you have clicked on it, wait until the normalization completes.

Soon, all audio will be normalized, and you will already be able to see on the graphics that the volumes are almost on the same level and when you listen to it, you will make sure that there is no longer apparent difference between how they sound. And from there on, you can save the file you just normalized!

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro is the industry-leading video editing software, and it is a timeline-based. Premiere Pro always tries to make its use easier and easier, as new features are rolling out regularly to simplify steps and save time. The very same can be said about normalizing audio files, which is actually pretty easy once mastered in a very short time. That is actually why it used by beginners and professionals alike.

To normalize audio Adobe Premiere Pro, first, import your MP3 there. In the timeline, you will see your files in the sequence, in the sound section. Now, the best way to work on them is increase the track height – for that, you need to double-click on the empty space there, next to the little microphone icon.

Now, the track is high, and you can see more of your track. So, say that one of your MP3’s seems very loud, and another is much quieter. Speaking of the loud one, if you can see on the right that there is some red light, it is not a good sign – meaning that audio went above zero (so-called clipping), so you need to avoid it.

(If you can not see your audio meters, just go to Window menu and choose Audio Meters).

So, here, our goal is to bring our audio clips around -3 – and for it, it’s possible to bring up and down the white line on the track, but it can be pretty time-consuming actually.

So a better way to do it would be next: click on the track and then right-click, find Audio Gain, and choose Normalize Max Peak to…:

Max Peak is basically the loudest, highest peak in the audio clip. So, you can write in -3 and click OK, which will ensure the entire audio waveform will have the gain of it adjusted so that the max peak is at -3. You can proceed to the next track and carry out the exact same process on it too. Then, on Audio Meters on the right again, you will be able to see that both tracks (or more, if you have them) peak at -3. In case you have a lot of clips on the timeline, you can select them all, then go to Audio Gain and normalize all of their max peaks simultaneously, which will save you so much time and help you enormously!

VLC Media Player

VLC is a well-known media player, it is a free-to-use, robust, and feature-packed software that plays a wide range of audio, image, and video files. It is worth noting that it can also play multimedia files directly from extractable devices or the PC and can stream from the most successful websites such as Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, and so on.

But there is another magic a simple media player can actually do - we can also normalize volume in VLC Media Player. It is a very handy feature and it works on Windows as well as on Mac. It is very simple, so follow these steps:

You need to have VLC Media Player installed on your device. Once you have it installed, open VLC. Go to the Tools and Preferences and there, check the single box which is next to Normalize volume in Effects. Now, set the level to the one that works best for you. Then, when you are happy with the result, click on Save.

What VLC does is just let adjust the general volume, leaving the specifics out of our control.

If you are not so satisfied with the simple editing and want a little more to get from the editing process on VLC, you can do more with the Audio Effects menu:

Find Tools and in the menu, go to Preferences. The window will open, and you need to select All in Show settings – on the bottom left corner of the window. Then, navigate to Audio, and a little below, click on Filters and highlight it. You also need to check the checkbox next to the Dynamic range compressor.

In the left panel, find Compressor and select it. From now, you can make the changes to the levels as you wish.

Here, concentrate the most on Makeup gain, Threshold, and Ratio. The first one is by which you adjust in quiet sequences to raise the volume, the second will help you reduce louder sequences to even things out, and ratio is the maximum level of all audio within a movie, let’s say.

Attack time and release time can also be very helpful. You can play around with them set them to your liking, and see if it’s better sounding, because actually this will ensure that you have a fluid transition in and out of the scene and there are less sudden, unexpected volume changes.

MP3Gain

MP3Gain is actually the only one in this list which is developed exactly for the task we are discussing in this article. It is an audio normalization software tool. The tool is available on multiple platforms and is free software. It analyzes the MP3 and reversibly changes its volume. The volume can be adjusted for single files or as album where all files would have the same perceived loudness. When applying the tool, there is no quality lost in the change because the program adjusts the mp3 file directly, without decoding and re-encoding.

So, to use this software, go and download MP3Gain. Install and open it when it is ready. You will see that your program is absolutely empty and it has a lot of space inside, waiting for you to upload some file(s)…

Now, you can either choose adding files manually, with you choosing each of them, but let’s say you have an album (which would be more comfortable, needless to say) in which you want to change the volume of all MP3’s. So, in this case, you can choose Add Folder, and when the window opens, choose the folder full of your MP3’s – all your files will be added in the program.

Now, find the Target “Normal” Volume above the files, and fill in the gap, if you will, or just use default dB. Then, click Album Analysis, and the process will start.

The software will show you the volume of each of the file, and then you will need to just click on Track Gain.

Now, wait for the process to be completed, and then you will see that the volumes changed for each of your files – so, it’s done!

Movavi

Powerful multimedia software for creating and editing videos – this is Movavi. It packs lots of video and audio editing power into a simple interface. On their official web-site, the program is described as: “An all-in-one video maker: an editor, converter, screen recorder, and more. Perfect for remote work and distance learning.” So, you can go and download the program, and learn audio normalization there very easily!

Install and open the program and then proceed directly to Adding Files. After having chosen your file, you drag and drop it in the timeline sequence.

If the audio is uneven, now double-click on the audio track, which will open the Clip Properties window. You will see the Normalize box, which you need to check. Doing this will even out the sound level for the whole track.

To save the result, click Export, choose the format, folder and name for your file, and then click Start, so your file can be exported.

So, it’s done – now you know a whole lot more about audio normalization, its types, why and when should we use it, and which are the 5 best free MP3 normalizers, along with the detailed guidelines on how to work with those tools to have your desired results. Let’s hope that you will be able to choose from Wondershare Filmora X, Adobe Premiere Pro, VLC Media Player, MP3 Gain and Movavi, and make your user experience so wonderful, and shareable!

“Silencing Audio in Updated MKV Files - A Comprehensive Guide (MKV-2023)”

How to Remove Audio from MKV

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

I have a High Definition MKV video here with 2 audio tracks: Russian and English. I want to turn this video to DVD but how would I remove the Russian and keep just the English audio?

Sometimes you might come across the same problem: got a piece of HD video with more than one audio track and want to remove the extra audio track. Or you may want to remove all the audio tracks and add some other audio files to it later. Now that can be very easy with the professional video editing tool - Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor). It’s a very effective MKV audio remover, very easy to use yet creates excellent result. Apart from removing audio from MKV, you can also use it to audio from AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, M4V, PSP, 3GP, MOV and more. Now download Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and follow the steps below to remove audio from MKV easily and quickly.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Add your MKV files to the program

Install and run Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and click the “Import” button to locate and add your target MKV files. Then the imported files will be displayed in the media library as the picture shown below.

2 Remove audio from MKV

After that, drag and drop the videos from the media library to the Timeline. Right click the video clip you want to remove audio and choose “Detach Audio” to separate audio from MKV. Then you will see video and audio displayed in different tracks, press the “Delete” button on your keyboard or right click the track and select the “Delete” command to remove the unwanted audio track from MKV.

Tip: If want to add a new sound track or background music to your video, just import it to the media library and then drag and drop to the proper position of the Timeline. Here is a detailed guide on how to add background music to video.

3 Preview and save the new file

Preview the new file by clicking the Play icon to see if it’s what you want. If you are happy with the result, hit “Create” to export the edited MKV file. As you see, you can select a desired output method: save the video in various formats, save it to play on portable devices, burn it to DVD disc or share it to YouTube directly. Then click “Create”, and your new file will be saved in a few seconds

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

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

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

I have a High Definition MKV video here with 2 audio tracks: Russian and English. I want to turn this video to DVD but how would I remove the Russian and keep just the English audio?

Sometimes you might come across the same problem: got a piece of HD video with more than one audio track and want to remove the extra audio track. Or you may want to remove all the audio tracks and add some other audio files to it later. Now that can be very easy with the professional video editing tool - Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor). It’s a very effective MKV audio remover, very easy to use yet creates excellent result. Apart from removing audio from MKV, you can also use it to audio from AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, M4V, PSP, 3GP, MOV and more. Now download Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and follow the steps below to remove audio from MKV easily and quickly.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Add your MKV files to the program

Install and run Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and click the “Import” button to locate and add your target MKV files. Then the imported files will be displayed in the media library as the picture shown below.

2 Remove audio from MKV

After that, drag and drop the videos from the media library to the Timeline. Right click the video clip you want to remove audio and choose “Detach Audio” to separate audio from MKV. Then you will see video and audio displayed in different tracks, press the “Delete” button on your keyboard or right click the track and select the “Delete” command to remove the unwanted audio track from MKV.

Tip: If want to add a new sound track or background music to your video, just import it to the media library and then drag and drop to the proper position of the Timeline. Here is a detailed guide on how to add background music to video.

3 Preview and save the new file

Preview the new file by clicking the Play icon to see if it’s what you want. If you are happy with the result, hit “Create” to export the edited MKV file. As you see, you can select a desired output method: save the video in various formats, save it to play on portable devices, burn it to DVD disc or share it to YouTube directly. Then click “Create”, and your new file will be saved in a few seconds

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

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

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

I have a High Definition MKV video here with 2 audio tracks: Russian and English. I want to turn this video to DVD but how would I remove the Russian and keep just the English audio?

Sometimes you might come across the same problem: got a piece of HD video with more than one audio track and want to remove the extra audio track. Or you may want to remove all the audio tracks and add some other audio files to it later. Now that can be very easy with the professional video editing tool - Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor). It’s a very effective MKV audio remover, very easy to use yet creates excellent result. Apart from removing audio from MKV, you can also use it to audio from AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, M4V, PSP, 3GP, MOV and more. Now download Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and follow the steps below to remove audio from MKV easily and quickly.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Add your MKV files to the program

Install and run Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and click the “Import” button to locate and add your target MKV files. Then the imported files will be displayed in the media library as the picture shown below.

2 Remove audio from MKV

After that, drag and drop the videos from the media library to the Timeline. Right click the video clip you want to remove audio and choose “Detach Audio” to separate audio from MKV. Then you will see video and audio displayed in different tracks, press the “Delete” button on your keyboard or right click the track and select the “Delete” command to remove the unwanted audio track from MKV.

Tip: If want to add a new sound track or background music to your video, just import it to the media library and then drag and drop to the proper position of the Timeline. Here is a detailed guide on how to add background music to video.

3 Preview and save the new file

Preview the new file by clicking the Play icon to see if it’s what you want. If you are happy with the result, hit “Create” to export the edited MKV file. As you see, you can select a desired output method: save the video in various formats, save it to play on portable devices, burn it to DVD disc or share it to YouTube directly. Then click “Create”, and your new file will be saved in a few seconds

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

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

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

I have a High Definition MKV video here with 2 audio tracks: Russian and English. I want to turn this video to DVD but how would I remove the Russian and keep just the English audio?

Sometimes you might come across the same problem: got a piece of HD video with more than one audio track and want to remove the extra audio track. Or you may want to remove all the audio tracks and add some other audio files to it later. Now that can be very easy with the professional video editing tool - Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor). It’s a very effective MKV audio remover, very easy to use yet creates excellent result. Apart from removing audio from MKV, you can also use it to audio from AVI, FLV, MKV, MP4, M4V, PSP, 3GP, MOV and more. Now download Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and follow the steps below to remove audio from MKV easily and quickly.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Add your MKV files to the program

Install and run Wondershare Filmora (originally Wondershare Video Editor) and click the “Import” button to locate and add your target MKV files. Then the imported files will be displayed in the media library as the picture shown below.

2 Remove audio from MKV

After that, drag and drop the videos from the media library to the Timeline. Right click the video clip you want to remove audio and choose “Detach Audio” to separate audio from MKV. Then you will see video and audio displayed in different tracks, press the “Delete” button on your keyboard or right click the track and select the “Delete” command to remove the unwanted audio track from MKV.

Tip: If want to add a new sound track or background music to your video, just import it to the media library and then drag and drop to the proper position of the Timeline. Here is a detailed guide on how to add background music to video.

3 Preview and save the new file

Preview the new file by clicking the Play icon to see if it’s what you want. If you are happy with the result, hit “Create” to export the edited MKV file. As you see, you can select a desired output method: save the video in various formats, save it to play on portable devices, burn it to DVD disc or share it to YouTube directly. Then click “Create”, and your new file will be saved in a few seconds

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

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

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Mastering the Art of Optimal Audio Format Selection

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.

---

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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