Audacity Forum

can this be accomplished in Audacity? I hope to make a much smaller MP3 file.

Yes, but you'll need to install the FFmpeg import/export library. (Download and run ffmpeg-win-2.2.2.exe.)

When you open the file with Audacity, you'll get the audio-only. Then you can export as MP3 or WAV, etc.

Note that when you open a compressed file in Audacity (or any "normal" audio editor) it gets decompressed. If you then re-export to MP3 (or other lossy format) you are going through another generation of lossy compression. You may not hear any quality loss, and you may not have a choice, but it's something you should be aware of.

thanks, this will be a nice time saver. And I will still have the option to save in bitrates that will suit my needs? For a simple spoken word performance
what setting should I look towards if I want the smallest file possible and still acceptable quality. And yes , original file quality will be the most important factor.

And I will still have the option to save in bitrates that will suit my needs?

Yes, when you select File -> Export -> Export As MP3 you'll see the various bitrate/quality settings.