Wav to Mp3
What do you guys use to change the file type? I just got a track of mine mastered and it came back as a .wav and I’d really like to put it into Mp3 format without killing any of the audio quality… Any suggestions?
I use Audacity. Pretty solid program all around, although for mp3 creation you have to download an add-on. (forgot what it’s called)
LAME is the encoder of choice for many people. It is free, already integrated into a LOT of music managers and music editors.
I have a few music editors that use the Fraunhofer mp3 codec. In tests with “pure tones” and “generated signals” I find that Fraunhofer does a better job than LAME. But, I can’t hear a difference with music.
Can not be done. Full stop.
If you need something smaller than a wav, but without ANY losses, the FLAC is your best bet. FLAC is a loss-less compression, than can be converted back to wav with no loss in audio quality.
If you need mp3, then you will have to live with some loss of audio quality. Using mp3 @ 320kbps CBR, you may not be able to hear any differences, but there will still be some loss of audio quality.
Thus the reason they gave you a wav in the first place.
I should have worded it slightly better.. I know you lose quality when converting but I wanted to get everyones input on their method. I have Audacity and just give it a shot and it sounds pretty good. I’ll stick with this for now, thanks for the replies.
XLD is my go-to. iTunes works fine, too.
Why not just ask the mastering engineer for an MP3 version? They probably have better tools for it anyway, and then you don’t need to worry about it. You paid them afterall. 
Audacity is using LAME as the mp3 codec. That’s good.
Using the mp3 export settings, pick whatever corresponds best to “320kbps, CBR, Joint Stereo” (that’s from memory, and I know it’s “close,” but I also know it’s not “exact.”) At 320kbps, the file size will be about 2.5MB/min. By comparison, a “CD quality” wav is about 10.5MB/min.
My bet is that you will not be able to A/B the difference between the wav and mp3 versions.
Yeah next time I’ll be paying you lol