file doubles in size after edit

[slobbob]

I've edited a voice file which started out at 17 Kb but after editing was 32. I've made sure I was in mono mode both when I ripped the file (with Freerip) and as I edited it with Audacity. Any ideas?

[billw58]

I've edited a voice file which started out at 17 Kb but after editing was 32. I've made sure I was in mono mode both when I ripped the file (with Freerip) and as I edited it with Audacity. Any ideas?

We need more details. Was the file you ripped an MP3? After editing did you export from Audacity? As an MP3? Did you export it at a different bit rate? What were the export options?

What computer, OS and version of Audacity are you running?

-- Bil

[slobbob]

The file I ripped off the CD was a cda file but I ripped it in Freerip as an MP3. I ripped it in mono. That MP3 file size was 17kb. Then I edited it in Audacity version 1.2.6, again in mono. (Tried stereo first then mono. same size.) I then exported it in MP3. Tried it in both 32 and 16 bit. Both came out 32.1kb. Any help appreciated.

[steve]

To reduce the file size (at the expense of sound quality):
Edit menu > Preferences > File Formats tab .... Change the MP3 bit rate to 64 (for a mono file this is roughly equivalent to 128kbps for a stereo file).

If sound quality is at all important, you should always work with uncompressed audio (WAV files). If you want an MP3 at the end, Export as MP3 as the final step in the production. Every time the audio is encoded as MP3 the sound quality gets worse, so just do it once - at the end.