Convert all the essential audio formats (WAV, AIFF, FLAC, AAC) to MP3

It all started with the MP3. When portable MP3 players appeared, it became possible to store hours of music in a small space and carry it around. A little later, the Internet turned into a huge, partly illegal hub for MP3 songs. Thus, file-sharing networks came into being. Today, the MP3 continues to be the best-known and most widely used audio format in the world, alongside WAV.

The idea behind the MP3 is to create files that are as small as possible in order to save storage space, but at the same time retain the highest possible sound quality. It uses a sophisticated psychoacoustic process developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany: What is audible to humans is preserved, but the inaudible parts of the sound spectrum are removed from the data or at least reduced in resolution.

The amount of compression – the so-called bit rate – can be specified. 192 kBit/s (kilobytes per second) correspond roughly with CD quality. Lower bit rates are used for Internet radio, for example, where the amount of data should be as small as possible so that you can stream without dropouts.

FLAC is the only one of the compression processes featured here that offers lossless compression. This means that your audio recording will sound exactly as if it hadn't been compressed. MP3, WMA, OGG and AAC use psychoacoustic compression methods, which means that the original data is changed during compression. FLAC only changes the way the data is rendered, so that it is packaged more efficiently.

However, lossless compression is compensated for by the fact that the files are larger. MP3 files, for example, are around 1/10th of the original file's size, while FLAC roughly halves the size of the original file. Furthermore, many playback devices do not support FLAC.

If you want to archive a music collection in the most efficient way, for example, FLAC is the best option because it doesn't compromise any sound quality. For portable devices or streaming, however, MP3 is the better choice.

Aside from OGG Vorbis, there is a third alternative to MP3 – WMA. WMA stands for Windows Media Audio, was developed by Microsoft and is a product competing with the MP3. For a normal user, there is not much of a difference between MP3 and WMA.

So now the question arises at the latest: Which format should you use when there are three more or less equivalent alternative options?The answer depends on where the file will be played. As mentioned, WMA is Microsoft's audio codec, and not all audio players recognize WMA format. If you want to play a WMA file on a computer, this can be done easily using Windows Media Player or VLC Player.

However, mobile devices or hardware players may not support this format. You might be better off with MP3 – this format is supported by (almost) every player.

The good, old WAV file is the "mother" of all audio formats. It is part of the Windows operating system and is therefore ubiquitous in the computer audio world. The WAV format produces uncompressed audio in the best quality – but with the price that files in this format are comparatively large. Most often, WAV files should be converted to compressed formats so that the files become smaller.

However, sometimes the opposite is true: Compressed audio files such as an MP3, AAC, WMA or FLAC are converted to WAV, for example, so that they can be played and edited on a Windows computer without any problems. Most audio programs, however, meanwhile perform the conversion automatically. This means you can directly import an MP3 or WMA file, play it, edit it and then save it as MP3, WMA or in any other format.

During this process, the program first converts the file to WAV, plays or edits it as a WAV file, and finally converts it again. This is all done in real time, without you noticing anything. In other words, normally you don't convert audio files to WAV, but rather the other way around – as WAV files to other formats.

With an important exception: CDA.

• Start Samplitude Music Studio and create an empty project using the start dialog.

This opens a new multitrack project with empty tracks.

• Select "File" > "Import" > "Audio CD track(s)" or simply press the "W" key.
• Load your audio files in the "Load audio file" dialog.

You can also used this dialog to select and import several audio files. To do this, click the files one after another while holding down the Ctrl key.

Alternatively, you can simply drag & drop the audio files directly from Windows Explorer into the project window.

• To import audio CD tracks in CDA format, insert the audio CD into your computer's drive and select the "Import audio CD track(s)" option from the "CD" menu. Then, select the tracks you want to import in the Import dialog and click "OK". 

All imported audio files will be inserted consecutively in the selected track (usually track 1).

Now, you can edit the audio files in a variety of ways. For this purpose, Samplitude Music Studio offers such an impressive variety of tools that we can't even list them all. A few examples:

• To crossfade multiple audio files into one another, move them onto two tracks and create a crossfade using the object handles. Note that clicking in the lower half of the track will move an object (the upper half is used to set ranges). 
• To apply object effects, click on an audio file and set the desired editing effect in the "Effects" menu. This is where you can access various compressors and equalizers, professional noise reduction and noise removal, reverb, echo, filters and time-stretching, and more.
• Press the "M" key to open the mixer. Here, you can find more track and mastering effects as well as adjust the volume of individual tracks.

It is also possible to skip any editing and simply convert the imported audio files to the desired output format.

If you don't want to convert the entire project, specify the range above the object you want to convert first:

• Click the object in the lower half of the track to select it.
• Select "Edit" > "Range" > "Edit range" > "Range over all selected objects".

Now, the range is placed over the entire length of the object and it can be converted into a separate audio file.

• Select "File" > "Export" and then one of the available formats.The available formats are WAV, MP3, AAC (following fee-based activation), Windows Media (WMA), FLAC, Ogg Vorbis, and AIFF.
• To export the range, click the "Export settings" button in the Export dialog and activate the "Only selected range" option.
• If you want to check or change the encoder settings, click "Format settings". This is where you can increase the bit rate, for example.
• If everything is correct, click "Export". This starts the conversion process.