Format choice matters at two points: while you work (always lossless) and when you deliver (depends on where).
Lossless formats store every sample exactly. WAV and AIFF store them uncompressed; FLAC and ALAC compress them the way a ZIP file does — smaller, with nothing lost.
Lossy formats — MP3, AAC, Opus, Ogg Vorbis — permanently discard audio information using psychoacoustic models that predict what you won't notice. The savings are enormous (roughly 10:1) and the loss is genuinely subtle at high bitrates. But it is permanent.
| Format | Type | Use for |
|---|
| WAV | Lossless, uncompressed | Working files, mastering, delivery to distributors |
| AIFF | Lossless, uncompressed | Same as WAV; more common in Apple workflows |
| FLAC | Lossless, compressed | Archiving, distribution to audiophiles, ~50% smaller than WAV |
| ALAC | Lossless, compressed | Same as FLAC, Apple ecosystem |
| MP3 | Lossy | Universal compatibility, references, demos |
| AAC | Lossy | Better than MP3 at the same bitrate; Apple and YouTube default |
| Opus | Lossy | Best quality at low bitrates; streaming and voice |
For MP3: 320kbps is transparent for almost all listeners. 192kbps is fine for references. 128kbps is audibly degraded on cymbals and reverb.
For AAC: quality at a given bitrate is better than MP3, so 256kbps AAC roughly matches 320kbps MP3.
1. Never work from lossy files. Importing an MP3 and processing it compounds artifacts. If you separate stems from an MP3, the model is working from already-damaged audio and the stems will be worse.
2. Never master to lossy. Master to 24-bit WAV. Let the distributor or platform encode.
3. Avoid re-encoding. Every lossy encode discards more. MP3 → edit → MP3 is measurably worse than the original.
4. Deliver lossless to distributors. They re-encode for each platform. Give them the best source.
5. Keep your masters. Archive a 24-bit WAV of every finished track. Platforms and formats change; your master shouldn't have to be recreated.
Deliver at the sample rate you worked at (44.1kHz or 48kHz is fine — higher is rarely audible) and at 24-bit for masters, 16-bit only for final CD-format delivery.
Related reading: sample rate and bit depth, audio codecs for musicians, and how to export for streaming.
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