I have some audio (voice) files that have some parts that I want to cut out. They are originally recorded at 96kbps as mp3’s
but when I cut out the parts I don’t want and then export what I do want to a folder they show up at 128kbps, how do I keep
them at the original 96kbps? I use Windows 7 and Audacity 2.1.0. and I’m new at using Audacity.
Thanks for any help.
When you exported your MP3 file, it should have offered you options to change the bitrate. Take them up on that.
You may want to export the edited work as 96, but the quality isn’t going to be 96. The quality may be as much as half that. Editing MP3 in Audacity isn’t “free.” Audacity recompresses the work each time you export and the compression distortion goes up.
For loss-less editing, use one of the editors that doesn’t try to make a whole new MP3 when you’re done. They’re usually limited to cutting and very simple editing, but that’s all you want to do anyway. Scroll down.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/MP3#re-encode
Koz
Thanks for your help. The reason I wanted to keep the bitrate the same was because when I cut out the unwanted part it was exported as a higher bitrate and a larger file sometimes by 25%.
I’ll try one of the things you suggested.
Audacity default MP3 bitrate used to be 128. That’s safe. For a single pass encoding, that usually enough where most people can’t tell it’s a compressed file. And yes, it does produce larger files. The sound quality goes down with the bitrate and it goes down a lot faster if you make an MP3 from an MP3.
Koz
Just google found and come across this question.
I am trimming a m4a file but by export, i would prefer to maintain its original bitrate, but Audacity demand to set (lower) bitrate.
another disappointing problem, it changed my album info.
How to maintain its orginal bitrate pls?
Currently I am using “TunesKit Video Cutter”, same easy as Audacity, but never ask me to change bitrate or change meta info.
The original question here starts from an incorrect premise in that it suggests that Audacity is modifying the file. That’s not the case - the exported file is a completely different (“new”) file.
Audacity does not directly edit the file. The file is “imported” into Audacity (the data is “copied” into Audacity) and then copy is edited. On “exporting” from Audacity, the audio in Audacity is exported (“copied”) to a new file. Consequently, the exported file may be any supported format, and not necessarily the same as the imported file.
A better way to phrase the question would be: “How do I export a file at the same bit-rate as the imported file”. The answer to this question is to set the bit-rate as you require in the export settings. It should be noted that for “variable bit-rate” (VBR) encoded formats, the specified bit-rate is an approximate, not an exact figure.
Audacity has limited support for metadata as described in the manual: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/metadata_editor.html
If you require more extensive metadata support, you could use a dedicated metadata editor on the file exported by Audacity.