Will changing the format of an audio file distort the sound of it?
My example is this (I NEED to have the final recording in MP3 format, 128 kbps, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz / this is a requirement in order to post VO auditions on the website I am interested in):
-I record the audio In Audacity in 44100 (44.1 kHz) and export it as being in MP3 format, 128 kbps, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz.
-I upload the audio to Adobe Podcast AI, which apparently gives you the final file in a Wav format only.
-I then use a different site and change the Wav file back to MP3 format, 128 kbps, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz.
Will changing the format of an audio file distort the sound of it?
Theoretically, yes.
MP3 is lossy compression. It throws-away information to make a smaller file. But it’s “smart” and it tries to throw-away details you can’t hear anyway so it’s not necessarily terrible and it often sounds identical to the uncompressed original.
With a lower bitrate more data is thrown away and you get a smaller file and possibly lower quality. 128kbps is probably fine with voice. Sometimes it’s OK with music but for music most people use a higher bitrate.
-I record the audio In Audacity in 44100 (44.1 kHz) and export it as being in MP3 format, 128 kbps, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz.
-I upload the audio to Adobe Podcast AI, which apparently gives you the final file in a Wav format only.
-I then use a different site and change the Wav file back to MP3 format, 128 kbps, with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz.
SOME “damage” accumulates with every generation of compression so ideally you should compress ONCE as the final step. Again you may not hear any loss of quality but it’s something you should be aware of.;
Would it help any then if I recorded the original an a Wav file first, uploaded it to Adobe Podcast AI (where it remains a wav file), and then convert or compress it into an mp3 file after it’s been enhanced in Adobe?
When you talk about compressing some thing once, is the process Adobe Audition AI goes through considered compressing as well, or just when you change the format from mp3 to Wav for example?
Would it help any then if I recorded the original an a Wav file first, uploaded it to Adobe Podcast AI (where it remains a wav file), and then convert or compress it into an mp3 file after it’s been enhanced in Adobe?
When you talk about compressing some thing once, is the process Adobe Audition AI goes through considered compressing as well, or just when you change the format from mp3 to Wav for example?
MP3 gets it’s convenient, small files by re-arranging the musical tones in the performance and leaving some of them out. If you tell MP3 you want a really tiny, highly compressed file, you can hear the damage. Also, if you make an MP3 from an MP3, it does the compression dance twice creating more damage as it goes.
Export your raw performance as a WAV file, errors and all. Do your post production processing, filtering, and correcting to a copy of that file. This is against the time your computer fails in the middle of editing and takes the show with it. You won’t have to read it all again. Open a copy of the performance backup WAV and keep going.
Then, when you’re finished with your editing and correcting, Export your Edit Master Final WAV for your archive. Only then Export the Client MP3 at the specifications they provide.
If the client wants changes, make the changes to a copy of the Edit Master WAV, burn, and submit a whole new MP3. Export a new Edit Master WAV. Do Not cover up or damage the first Edit Master. You can’t edit an MP3 without causing damage. Being obsessive (and having been burned once), I keep both WAV Edit Masters.
“Say, Koz. Do you still have a copy of the original show?”
No. Converting from Wav to Mp3 compresses the file (and does a little more damage each time you do this). Going the other way doesn’t do any additional damage.
Converting from Wav to Mp3 compresses the file (and does a little more damage each time you do this). Going the other way doesn’t do any additional damage.
A couple of notes about this.
does a little more damage
MP3 creation is a variable. You can make smaller and smaller files with more and more damage. There is no single MP3 file. There is a nasty surprise when people edit an MP3 file, save a new one, and get a larger file than they started with. That just means the Audacity export quality setting was higher than the original. I don’t know of any way to tell what the original was.
Going the other way doesn’t do any additional damage
Emphasis on additional. Your WAV file will have exactly the same sound damage that the original MP3 had. It doesn’t magically go away. Further, If you make an MP3 from that WAV file, you will have two MP3’s worth of damage. The trip through WAV didn’t magically fix everything.
There is one MP3 “trick” you can use to minimize sound damage. Make Super Big MP3 files. Audacity (last I looked) had a 320-Constant MP3 quality setting. The only shortcoming is super sized MP3 files. The reason you used MP3 in the first place is small files.
Never use MP3 in production. The damage is permanent and always increases.
There is an Audiobook note. ACX requires its submissions to be MP3 with 192 Constant Quality, minimum. That’s far higher than most normal MP3 files. This is so they can mess with the work without it turning to trash.
