Should I Convert To WAV Or MP3?
Most people who have dealt with digital audio before know of MPEG Layer III (MP3) and Waveform Audio File Format (WAV). These old formats, released in 1991, have stood the test of time. But if you need to convert to one of them, whatโs the best option?
You should convert to MP3 when a small file is desired for near-universal playback, whereas WAV is best suited to audio processing, archival, and special-case compatibility. Each has its advantages and issues. However, both formats are old and have superior counterparts.
In general, it’s best not to stick to one file format. Doing so has little benefit, so knowing which to use is vital for anyone who gets their hands (virtually) dirty. We’ll cover WAV and MP3 in detail and cover some alternatives to each too.
Should You Convert To WAV Or MP3?
High-bitrate MP3 better meets the needs of the average consumer of audio media. However, there is no “correct” answer, as it will depend on why you’re converting to another format and whether you plan to keep the file around for future use.
Note that conversion often degrades audio quality, particularly when converting to a lossy format like MP3, unlike WAV. On the other hand, converting to a lossless format like WAV will increase the data necessary to encode the same information without any benefit. Therefore, be sure to convert from the source where possible.
The WAV and MP3 formats are distinct in their technical trade-offs between size and quality, compatibility, and metadata.
Quality
On average, the quality of WAV files will be better than MP3, but this is down to the encoding of each. Here, we’re taking quality to mean audio fidelity, the resemblance of the encoded waveform to the original sound. The more distorted the representation, the worse audio may sound, or artifacts and noise may be introduced.
While WAV audio is typically lossless, the quality depends on the sample rate and sample depth. Often, this will resemble CD quality, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a depth of 16 bits, which is more than enough for most practical purposes.
MP3 quality ranges anywhere from just as good to remarkably poor. This is because MP3 is designed to encode data at different bit rates. 320 kbps (kilobits per second) is the maximum, while the minimum is 30 kbps. For comparison, CD-quality audio is 1411 kbps. Yet, most people couldn’t distinguish between 320 kbps MP3 and CD audio.
Size
The size of an audio file is equal to the length of the track times the bit rate (plus the size of metadata, but this is often negligible). This gives us a straightforward formula to work with, but be sure to distinguish bits (b) from bytes (B), as 8 bits is 1 byte.
Remember, while size has a linear relationship to the bit rate, quality does not. For instance, increasing the bit rate of an audio file will not increase the fidelity of the reconstructed waveform, as the information cannot be recovered from thin air.
Compatibility
Both formats are widely supported across most devices, platforms, and audio software. In addition, the age and adoption of MP3 and WAV within the industry have led to a self-sustaining incentive for new tools and software to support the industry mainstays. Thus, for the sake of customer convenience, distributors use these formats to maximize compatibility.
You will inevitably find places where MP3 is supported, but WAV isn’t, such as Youtube. Although, keeping a WAV file and converting from it may lead to less loss than keeping an MP3.
Metadata
WAV doesn’t support metadata or MP3, as WAV is based on RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format), a generic media container format. This might make it a less ideal choice for a library of work.
The Fundamental Difference Between WAV And MP3
WAV is lossless and uncompressed audio, while MP3 is lossy-compressed. Even if these concepts are unfamiliar, you may have already known MP3 to be small but low-fidelity, while WAV is much larger but tends to contain better-quality sound data. Of course, there’s a reason for this.
Data compression, in essence, reduces the amount of data (bits) we use. There are two main methods:
- Lossless compression: the original file can be reconstructed from the compressed data.
- Lossy compression: the original file cannot be fully recovered, as information has been lost.
Lossless compression represents the same information using fewer data, but lossy compression actually discards some of the information to achieve much better compression. Of course, lossy compression isn’t always applicable. For instance, lossy-compressed text files would lead to spelling errors or worse. However, there’s a lot of detail in a sound wave that humans can’t perceive, so why keep all of it?
Back to our audio formats, it’s easy to see why MP3 files are smaller but might sound worse: they throw away data. On the other hand, remember that WAV isn’t even compressed. The audio data stream is essentially a list of amplitudes sampled at a given frequency. This results in WAV being 8-10x the size of MP3 files, but this depends significantly on the bit rate of the MP3 file.
Use Cases For WAV
WAV is most suitable when having a simple format that can be easily manipulated and played back is an advantage. This is especially ideal when processing or editing audio, allowing the file to be edited more directly while avoiding distorting the data or adding artifacts due to repeated re-encoding.
Use Cases For MP3
MP3 is ideal for both storage and distribution due to its smaller size. Some older devices operate almost exclusively as MP3 players too. In general, however, MP3 is better suited for downloading and playback for the average user due to its balance between size and quality.
The Best Alternatives To WAV
Perhaps you’d like to avoid the bit-rot of lossy formats but think WAV is too large, archaic, and lacking features. These are all very reasonable. Thankfully, FLAC and ALAC fill this large niche. They are among the best lossless formats, often reducing file sizes by half without compromising quality.
Free Lossless Audio Codec and Apple Lossless Audio Codec are roughly equivalent, the difference being that FLAC is an openly-developed format by Xiph, while ALAC is Apple’s proprietary version, with extensions such as Digital Rights Management. Unfortunately, iTunes does not support FLAC, so Apple users should take that into consideration.
The Best Alternatives To MP3
MP3 is the most popular lossy compression format, but better options exist. In fact, it’s quite a poor standard compared to more modern audio formats such as AAC or Opus.
Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) was developed as a successor to MP3. Indeed, it boasts more features and better encoding methods than MP3. AAC, like MP3, is also widely supported, so there’s little reason not to prefer AAC.
Opus, like FLAC, is an open format developed by Xiph. While a successor to the speech codec Speex, it edges out AAC regarding the quality-to-size trade-off, even with typical music and movie tracks – not just voice recordings. However, it is newer and significantly less universal, so make sure your favorite programs support Opus files before beginning any batch conversions.
Conclusion
Between the two, converting to MP3 at a bitrate of 256 or 320 kbps is the most generally applicable recommendation, achieving decent sizes without sacrificing quality. However, unless you need compatibility, keeping audio as-is or using FLAC or AAC instead is recommended.
