Top 10+ Best Free Online Audio Cutters

If you have MP3 or audio files that you want to trim or remove some part of it, you can do that easily because now you have feature-rich top audio cutters online. There can be multiple reasons why you want to trim or cut an MP3/audio file, and no matter what the reason is, all you need to do is find a reliable audio cutter online for free and start using it.

Since we are living on a digital page, finding an audio cutter is not difficult at all. There is a plethora of audio cutters available, but the crux is to find the best one that will let you trim or cut an audio file just the way you want. To make things easier for you, we are here with our hand-picked audio cutter online MP3 tools that you can try. So, keep reading to find what they are.

2. Audio Trimmer

Audio Trimmer is free to use online audio cutter and is extremely easy to use. Whether you have used an audio trimmer previously or not, using this audio cutter and trimmer will be easy. You just need to have a good internet connection to start using Audio Trimmer. This trimmer will work on a laptop, computer, and mobile devices.

3. Online MP3 Cutter

To use this online MP3 cutter , you don’t need any special skills. Just upload your audio file, select the area, and cut it. It also lets you fade in and out the audio track smoothly. Since it’s an online tool, you don’t need to install and neither will you have to create an account to use it.

4. Audio Cutter Online by Clideo

Clideo’s Audio Cutter Online tool is the easiest MP3 cutter, and all credit goes to its intuitive interface. You can not only choose the length of the audio to cut or trim it but also add fade in and out effect. This is an excellent tool to use to create personalized ringtones of top MP3 songs.

5.MP3 Cutter

MP3 Cutter is free to use online MP3 cutter and accepts multiple audio formats. You can upload a local audio file from your computer or paste a URL. It will efficiently remove and cut out the parts that you don’t want in the audio file. It also has a fade-in/out feature, and it is a secure online tool. In addition, you can use this tool to convert audio as well.

6. CutMP3.Net

CutMP3.Net is known for its simple utility. It is an online tool, and you can crop music effortlessly without losing its quality. Every song that gets trimmed through CutMP3.Net will retain the original sound quality. This tool is pretty good for those who want to create ringtones. The only downside of using CutMP3.Net is that it accepts MP3 files only.

7. Toolster MP3 Cutter Online

Toolster MP3 Cutter is a dedicated tool that lets you create ringtones out of full MP3 files. So, if you have a favorite song that you want to convert into a short ringtone, try Toolster MP3 Cutter Online. Other than that, you can also use the same tool to cut parts of interviews, audio lectures, audiobooks, and more. It’s straightforward to use but lacks extra features.

8. Wincreator

Wincreator accepts up to 50 MB of an audio file. It lets you cut parts of an audio file, convert videos to MP3, can be used as a video audio cutter online tool, and lets you do many more. Once you upload a file and trim it, it doesn’t save the audio file on its system. This ensures that Wincreator prioritizes safety. And once you are done trimming your audio, you can preview it too.

9. Magicode.me

Like many other online audio cutter and trimmer tools, Magicode.me is an online tool perfect for trimming long MP3s into short ringtones. The best part about this tool is that it is free to use, and there is no file size limit. This means no matter how long the audio file is; you can upload it on this online tool.

10. Toolur MP3 Cutter

Toolur MP3 Cutter is counted among the best audio cutter and trimmers. Whether you want to trim an audio recording or a music file, Toolur MP3 Cutter will let you do everything. Apart from trimming and cutting an audio file, you can use it to convert an audio file to MP3 format as well. One good thing about Toolur MP3 Cutter is that it comes with a fade in and fade out feature.

11. Audio Alter

Audio Alter allows you to cut and trim audio effortlessly. It accepts a few audio file formats, and the way it trims an audio file is commendable. You just need to upload an audio file and choose the area that you want to trim, and that’s it. Your work will be done. In addition, Audio Alter is a free-to-use online tool.

Bonus: How to Cut Audio with Wondershare Filmora

If you have a video with a soundtrack that you want to extract and trim, then get a tool that seamlessly lets you do that. Wondershare Filmora is a professional audio and video editing tool that will allow you to do both impeccably. This means that you don’t have to be dependent upon multiple tools. Wondershare Filmora enables you to edit audios without any issue. To extra an audio from a video and trim it, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Download Wondershare Filmora and launch it. Now, import the video that has the soundtrack.

Step 2: Drag the video to the timeline, and click on the Detach Audio option. This will extract the audio from the video.

Step 3: To trim the audio, place the cursor anywhere in the audio and press the Split option. This will delete the area of the audio file that you don’t want.

Step 4: After everything is done, you need to click on the Export option to save the audio on your computer, and it’s done. You now have trimmed audio.

There are many video tutorials about how to edit audio with Filmora on YouTube, and here is one for beginners:

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Conclusion

If you like music and want to trim it, it is better to find a reliable audio trimmer that will let you do that. Online audio trimmers are easy to use, and the ones that we have listed here are free. Moreover, none of the tools will ask you to register. Instead, you can simply add the audio file you want to trim and get the thing done. And if you have a video with an excellent soundtrack, try Wondershare Filmora to extra the audio and trim it.

Audio Trimmer is free to use online audio cutter and is extremely easy to use. Whether you have used an audio trimmer previously or not, using this audio cutter and trimmer will be easy. You just need to have a good internet connection to start using Audio Trimmer. This trimmer will work on a laptop, computer, and mobile devices.

3. Online MP3 Cutter

To use this online MP3 cutter , you don’t need any special skills. Just upload your audio file, select the area, and cut it. It also lets you fade in and out the audio track smoothly. Since it’s an online tool, you don’t need to install and neither will you have to create an account to use it.

4. Audio Cutter Online by Clideo

Clideo’s Audio Cutter Online tool is the easiest MP3 cutter, and all credit goes to its intuitive interface. You can not only choose the length of the audio to cut or trim it but also add fade in and out effect. This is an excellent tool to use to create personalized ringtones of top MP3 songs.

5.MP3 Cutter

MP3 Cutter is free to use online MP3 cutter and accepts multiple audio formats. You can upload a local audio file from your computer or paste a URL. It will efficiently remove and cut out the parts that you don’t want in the audio file. It also has a fade-in/out feature, and it is a secure online tool. In addition, you can use this tool to convert audio as well.

6. CutMP3.Net

CutMP3.Net is known for its simple utility. It is an online tool, and you can crop music effortlessly without losing its quality. Every song that gets trimmed through CutMP3.Net will retain the original sound quality. This tool is pretty good for those who want to create ringtones. The only downside of using CutMP3.Net is that it accepts MP3 files only.

7. Toolster MP3 Cutter Online

Toolster MP3 Cutter is a dedicated tool that lets you create ringtones out of full MP3 files. So, if you have a favorite song that you want to convert into a short ringtone, try Toolster MP3 Cutter Online. Other than that, you can also use the same tool to cut parts of interviews, audio lectures, audiobooks, and more. It’s straightforward to use but lacks extra features.

8. Wincreator

Wincreator accepts up to 50 MB of an audio file. It lets you cut parts of an audio file, convert videos to MP3, can be used as a video audio cutter online tool, and lets you do many more. Once you upload a file and trim it, it doesn’t save the audio file on its system. This ensures that Wincreator prioritizes safety. And once you are done trimming your audio, you can preview it too.

9. Magicode.me

Like many other online audio cutter and trimmer tools, Magicode.me is an online tool perfect for trimming long MP3s into short ringtones. The best part about this tool is that it is free to use, and there is no file size limit. This means no matter how long the audio file is; you can upload it on this online tool.

10. Toolur MP3 Cutter

Toolur MP3 Cutter is counted among the best audio cutter and trimmers. Whether you want to trim an audio recording or a music file, Toolur MP3 Cutter will let you do everything. Apart from trimming and cutting an audio file, you can use it to convert an audio file to MP3 format as well. One good thing about Toolur MP3 Cutter is that it comes with a fade in and fade out feature.

11. Audio Alter

Audio Alter allows you to cut and trim audio effortlessly. It accepts a few audio file formats, and the way it trims an audio file is commendable. You just need to upload an audio file and choose the area that you want to trim, and that’s it. Your work will be done. In addition, Audio Alter is a free-to-use online tool.

Bonus: How to Cut Audio with Wondershare Filmora

If you have a video with a soundtrack that you want to extract and trim, then get a tool that seamlessly lets you do that. Wondershare Filmora is a professional audio and video editing tool that will allow you to do both impeccably. This means that you don’t have to be dependent upon multiple tools. Wondershare Filmora enables you to edit audios without any issue. To extra an audio from a video and trim it, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Download Wondershare Filmora and launch it. Now, import the video that has the soundtrack.

Step 2: Drag the video to the timeline, and click on the Detach Audio option. This will extract the audio from the video.

Step 3: To trim the audio, place the cursor anywhere in the audio and press the Split option. This will delete the area of the audio file that you don’t want.

Step 4: After everything is done, you need to click on the Export option to save the audio on your computer, and it’s done. You now have trimmed audio.

There are many video tutorials about how to edit audio with Filmora on YouTube, and here is one for beginners:

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Conclusion

If you like music and want to trim it, it is better to find a reliable audio trimmer that will let you do that. Online audio trimmers are easy to use, and the ones that we have listed here are free. Moreover, none of the tools will ask you to register. Instead, you can simply add the audio file you want to trim and get the thing done. And if you have a video with an excellent soundtrack, try Wondershare Filmora to extra the audio and trim it.

Audio Trimmer is free to use online audio cutter and is extremely easy to use. Whether you have used an audio trimmer previously or not, using this audio cutter and trimmer will be easy. You just need to have a good internet connection to start using Audio Trimmer. This trimmer will work on a laptop, computer, and mobile devices.

3. Online MP3 Cutter

To use this online MP3 cutter , you don’t need any special skills. Just upload your audio file, select the area, and cut it. It also lets you fade in and out the audio track smoothly. Since it’s an online tool, you don’t need to install and neither will you have to create an account to use it.

4. Audio Cutter Online by Clideo

Clideo’s Audio Cutter Online tool is the easiest MP3 cutter, and all credit goes to its intuitive interface. You can not only choose the length of the audio to cut or trim it but also add fade in and out effect. This is an excellent tool to use to create personalized ringtones of top MP3 songs.

5.MP3 Cutter

MP3 Cutter is free to use online MP3 cutter and accepts multiple audio formats. You can upload a local audio file from your computer or paste a URL. It will efficiently remove and cut out the parts that you don’t want in the audio file. It also has a fade-in/out feature, and it is a secure online tool. In addition, you can use this tool to convert audio as well.

6. CutMP3.Net

CutMP3.Net is known for its simple utility. It is an online tool, and you can crop music effortlessly without losing its quality. Every song that gets trimmed through CutMP3.Net will retain the original sound quality. This tool is pretty good for those who want to create ringtones. The only downside of using CutMP3.Net is that it accepts MP3 files only.

7. Toolster MP3 Cutter Online

Toolster MP3 Cutter is a dedicated tool that lets you create ringtones out of full MP3 files. So, if you have a favorite song that you want to convert into a short ringtone, try Toolster MP3 Cutter Online. Other than that, you can also use the same tool to cut parts of interviews, audio lectures, audiobooks, and more. It’s straightforward to use but lacks extra features.

8. Wincreator

Wincreator accepts up to 50 MB of an audio file. It lets you cut parts of an audio file, convert videos to MP3, can be used as a video audio cutter online tool, and lets you do many more. Once you upload a file and trim it, it doesn’t save the audio file on its system. This ensures that Wincreator prioritizes safety. And once you are done trimming your audio, you can preview it too.

9. Magicode.me

Like many other online audio cutter and trimmer tools, Magicode.me is an online tool perfect for trimming long MP3s into short ringtones. The best part about this tool is that it is free to use, and there is no file size limit. This means no matter how long the audio file is; you can upload it on this online tool.

10. Toolur MP3 Cutter

Toolur MP3 Cutter is counted among the best audio cutter and trimmers. Whether you want to trim an audio recording or a music file, Toolur MP3 Cutter will let you do everything. Apart from trimming and cutting an audio file, you can use it to convert an audio file to MP3 format as well. One good thing about Toolur MP3 Cutter is that it comes with a fade in and fade out feature.

11. Audio Alter

Audio Alter allows you to cut and trim audio effortlessly. It accepts a few audio file formats, and the way it trims an audio file is commendable. You just need to upload an audio file and choose the area that you want to trim, and that’s it. Your work will be done. In addition, Audio Alter is a free-to-use online tool.

Bonus: How to Cut Audio with Wondershare Filmora

If you have a video with a soundtrack that you want to extract and trim, then get a tool that seamlessly lets you do that. Wondershare Filmora is a professional audio and video editing tool that will allow you to do both impeccably. This means that you don’t have to be dependent upon multiple tools. Wondershare Filmora enables you to edit audios without any issue. To extra an audio from a video and trim it, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Download Wondershare Filmora and launch it. Now, import the video that has the soundtrack.

Step 2: Drag the video to the timeline, and click on the Detach Audio option. This will extract the audio from the video.

Step 3: To trim the audio, place the cursor anywhere in the audio and press the Split option. This will delete the area of the audio file that you don’t want.

Step 4: After everything is done, you need to click on the Export option to save the audio on your computer, and it’s done. You now have trimmed audio.

There are many video tutorials about how to edit audio with Filmora on YouTube, and here is one for beginners:

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Conclusion

If you like music and want to trim it, it is better to find a reliable audio trimmer that will let you do that. Online audio trimmers are easy to use, and the ones that we have listed here are free. Moreover, none of the tools will ask you to register. Instead, you can simply add the audio file you want to trim and get the thing done. And if you have a video with an excellent soundtrack, try Wondershare Filmora to extra the audio and trim it.

Audio Trimmer is free to use online audio cutter and is extremely easy to use. Whether you have used an audio trimmer previously or not, using this audio cutter and trimmer will be easy. You just need to have a good internet connection to start using Audio Trimmer. This trimmer will work on a laptop, computer, and mobile devices.

3. Online MP3 Cutter

To use this online MP3 cutter , you don’t need any special skills. Just upload your audio file, select the area, and cut it. It also lets you fade in and out the audio track smoothly. Since it’s an online tool, you don’t need to install and neither will you have to create an account to use it.

4. Audio Cutter Online by Clideo

Clideo’s Audio Cutter Online tool is the easiest MP3 cutter, and all credit goes to its intuitive interface. You can not only choose the length of the audio to cut or trim it but also add fade in and out effect. This is an excellent tool to use to create personalized ringtones of top MP3 songs.

5.MP3 Cutter

MP3 Cutter is free to use online MP3 cutter and accepts multiple audio formats. You can upload a local audio file from your computer or paste a URL. It will efficiently remove and cut out the parts that you don’t want in the audio file. It also has a fade-in/out feature, and it is a secure online tool. In addition, you can use this tool to convert audio as well.

6. CutMP3.Net

CutMP3.Net is known for its simple utility. It is an online tool, and you can crop music effortlessly without losing its quality. Every song that gets trimmed through CutMP3.Net will retain the original sound quality. This tool is pretty good for those who want to create ringtones. The only downside of using CutMP3.Net is that it accepts MP3 files only.

7. Toolster MP3 Cutter Online

Toolster MP3 Cutter is a dedicated tool that lets you create ringtones out of full MP3 files. So, if you have a favorite song that you want to convert into a short ringtone, try Toolster MP3 Cutter Online. Other than that, you can also use the same tool to cut parts of interviews, audio lectures, audiobooks, and more. It’s straightforward to use but lacks extra features.

8. Wincreator

Wincreator accepts up to 50 MB of an audio file. It lets you cut parts of an audio file, convert videos to MP3, can be used as a video audio cutter online tool, and lets you do many more. Once you upload a file and trim it, it doesn’t save the audio file on its system. This ensures that Wincreator prioritizes safety. And once you are done trimming your audio, you can preview it too.

9. Magicode.me

Like many other online audio cutter and trimmer tools, Magicode.me is an online tool perfect for trimming long MP3s into short ringtones. The best part about this tool is that it is free to use, and there is no file size limit. This means no matter how long the audio file is; you can upload it on this online tool.

10. Toolur MP3 Cutter

Toolur MP3 Cutter is counted among the best audio cutter and trimmers. Whether you want to trim an audio recording or a music file, Toolur MP3 Cutter will let you do everything. Apart from trimming and cutting an audio file, you can use it to convert an audio file to MP3 format as well. One good thing about Toolur MP3 Cutter is that it comes with a fade in and fade out feature.

11. Audio Alter

Audio Alter allows you to cut and trim audio effortlessly. It accepts a few audio file formats, and the way it trims an audio file is commendable. You just need to upload an audio file and choose the area that you want to trim, and that’s it. Your work will be done. In addition, Audio Alter is a free-to-use online tool.

Bonus: How to Cut Audio with Wondershare Filmora

If you have a video with a soundtrack that you want to extract and trim, then get a tool that seamlessly lets you do that. Wondershare Filmora is a professional audio and video editing tool that will allow you to do both impeccably. This means that you don’t have to be dependent upon multiple tools. Wondershare Filmora enables you to edit audios without any issue. To extra an audio from a video and trim it, here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Download Wondershare Filmora and launch it. Now, import the video that has the soundtrack.

Step 2: Drag the video to the timeline, and click on the Detach Audio option. This will extract the audio from the video.

Step 3: To trim the audio, place the cursor anywhere in the audio and press the Split option. This will delete the area of the audio file that you don’t want.

Step 4: After everything is done, you need to click on the Export option to save the audio on your computer, and it’s done. You now have trimmed audio.

There are many video tutorials about how to edit audio with Filmora on YouTube, and here is one for beginners:

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

Conclusion

If you like music and want to trim it, it is better to find a reliable audio trimmer that will let you do that. Online audio trimmers are easy to use, and the ones that we have listed here are free. Moreover, none of the tools will ask you to register. Instead, you can simply add the audio file you want to trim and get the thing done. And if you have a video with an excellent soundtrack, try Wondershare Filmora to extra the audio and trim it.

Responsibilities of Each Team Member During Production

When shooting a small-scale video, only one person handles all department workings. He or she works not only as a director, but also a cinematographer and the camera operator.

However, as the production grows and needs large-scale filming, more specific members are needed for different departments. Whether you want to set up a filming studio, or join a movie-making workshop, you’d better figure out the entire composition of the film crew and choose the best one according to your capabilities.

To simplify the scenario, we have divided the crew into these major departments, as shown below, with their work areas.

What Is the Role of a Producer?

The producer is the main handler of the filming. Before filming, he finds out the content and directions and links with the director and DP for each direction to get the best vision of the music video. The producer are responsible for:

1. Schedule the crew members

Producers can make the call sheets for the crew members to maintain their schedule according to the specific timelines.

2. Find the studio space

To find the studio space, the producers work with the directors to get the exact location according to the script of their music video for better illustrations.

3. Find the gear

Producers found the gear for the studio space and handled the renting of the equipment from the warehouse.

4. Build relationships with the industries

If the filming is starting and you don’t know who to choose, you should build a relationship with the appropriate people in the industry. So that when you are in trouble, you can call them off to get the solution.

Roles of a Director Department

The director is considered to be in charge of filmmaking. His main responsibility is creatively giving the idea to the production and communicating to the crew and characters to check out what they want in their scenes to play out.

The director department mainly consists of the director and the first assistant director, and sometimes there is a 2nd, a 3rd, and 4th AD. For example,

1st AD

The first lead is mainly in charge of time management, communicate with the crew member, and ensuring that the shorts get done safely and readily.

Note: If there is no dialogue in the shorts, then the director usually gives reference pictures of the scenes and moods to act in that way.

You need to work with different people in the industry to check their personalities and work according to them. There is no need to work with the same people repeatedly.

Team for Production Designing

The next and foremost department is the production design. In this the production designer is the leader of all and has to work with the art director. He is mainly in charge of the set builders, set dressers, prop makers, hair and makeup, and costume and wardrobe departments.

In this department, the production designer is mainly involved in decorating the sets, making props, and setting up the lighting.

Cinematographers Department

The cinematic department comes to the frontline to give the shots and the lit music video final touches. In this, the head of the department is also known as the director of photography.

Director of photography

He mainly decides how the shots and the music video footage look. The main action is to handle the lightning and interact with the lights with the environment and the characters. He should build relationships with each other for better illusions.

Director’s monitor

The director’s monitor is the screen that displays a live shoot and filming of everything happening on camera. It mainly gives each take’s exact position and views for coordinating with the director and the DP.

Due to this, they can change the direction and the setup wherever they want and whenever they want.

Camera operators

To operate the camera, the DPs are not involved, but there is a specific job of the camera operators, which handle the shots and moves according to the director’s directions. There are also 1st and 2nd Assistant Cameras (AC) with the camera operators.

1st Assistant Camera

The duty of the 1st AC is to focus on the required target, pulling, swapping the lenses from the camera. He is ensuring that the camera is all set and workable on the shoot day without any trouble.

2nd Assistant Camera

The 2nd AC has to consider the slates of the shots, place exact locations and markers for the characters, and give exposed footage to save for the backup.

Gaffers and key grip

Gaffers and key grip have their own teams for maintaining the lighting and grip work assigned by the DP according to the creative plans.

Digital media technician

It is essential to get the backup of footage of every shot. If you are working on a large scale, the backup planner is recognized as the Digital Media Technician (DMT).

DMT will handle the exposed footage, which Digital Memory Card will do with tapes denoting the card’s number. Make sure to make two backups of the footage to prevent any trouble.

Note: Making two copies for the backup will reduce the risk of corrupted files and physical accidents of losing the footage.

Additional Roles

If you are the music video director, you need a Cinematographer with Camera Operators. He will be in charge of pulling and adjusting all the camera alignments. If you have enough budget, go with the co-producer to help you direct the talents.

To make your subject looks good and modern according to the theme, you should hire hair and makeup artist. If you have more budget, you can do it professionally with more and more crew members.

Conclusion

If you are a starter, then there is no need to worry to pull-off all the roles in a crew; you just need two to three people for the start-up. That’s all about the large production, but whenever you scale up, you should know how to manage all the members with their required areas.

You need to work with different people in the industry to check their personalities and work according to them. There is no need to work with the same people repeatedly.

Team for Production Designing

The next and foremost department is the production design. In this the production designer is the leader of all and has to work with the art director. He is mainly in charge of the set builders, set dressers, prop makers, hair and makeup, and costume and wardrobe departments.

In this department, the production designer is mainly involved in decorating the sets, making props, and setting up the lighting.

Cinematographers Department

The cinematic department comes to the frontline to give the shots and the lit music video final touches. In this, the head of the department is also known as the director of photography.

Director of photography

He mainly decides how the shots and the music video footage look. The main action is to handle the lightning and interact with the lights with the environment and the characters. He should build relationships with each other for better illusions.

Director’s monitor

The director’s monitor is the screen that displays a live shoot and filming of everything happening on camera. It mainly gives each take’s exact position and views for coordinating with the director and the DP.

Due to this, they can change the direction and the setup wherever they want and whenever they want.

Camera operators

To operate the camera, the DPs are not involved, but there is a specific job of the camera operators, which handle the shots and moves according to the director’s directions. There are also 1st and 2nd Assistant Cameras (AC) with the camera operators.

1st Assistant Camera

The duty of the 1st AC is to focus on the required target, pulling, swapping the lenses from the camera. He is ensuring that the camera is all set and workable on the shoot day without any trouble.

2nd Assistant Camera

The 2nd AC has to consider the slates of the shots, place exact locations and markers for the characters, and give exposed footage to save for the backup.

Gaffers and key grip

Gaffers and key grip have their own teams for maintaining the lighting and grip work assigned by the DP according to the creative plans.

Digital media technician

It is essential to get the backup of footage of every shot. If you are working on a large scale, the backup planner is recognized as the Digital Media Technician (DMT).

DMT will handle the exposed footage, which Digital Memory Card will do with tapes denoting the card’s number. Make sure to make two backups of the footage to prevent any trouble.

Note: Making two copies for the backup will reduce the risk of corrupted files and physical accidents of losing the footage.

Additional Roles

If you are the music video director, you need a Cinematographer with Camera Operators. He will be in charge of pulling and adjusting all the camera alignments. If you have enough budget, go with the co-producer to help you direct the talents.

To make your subject looks good and modern according to the theme, you should hire hair and makeup artist. If you have more budget, you can do it professionally with more and more crew members.

Conclusion

If you are a starter, then there is no need to worry to pull-off all the roles in a crew; you just need two to three people for the start-up. That’s all about the large production, but whenever you scale up, you should know how to manage all the members with their required areas.

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

How to Choose Best Audio Formats

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

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

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

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

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

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

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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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