Hi everybody,
just wondering, if I've got a sound file which needs to be cut into
many small files, would it make a difference if I cut it as wav (uncompressed) and then
convert the cut files into mp3 or I immediately convert it to the desired mp3 and
then cut it. Would the result be the same?
Oliver
Cutting files in wav or mp3?
Re: Cutting files in wav or mp3?
It's best to do all of your editing in an un-compressed format (i.e. WAV) and then compress once as the final step.
MP3 is lossy compression. (Data is thrown-away during compression.) In order to edit an MP3 (with a regular audio editor*) it has to be decompresed first. When you re-save you are going through a 2nd lossy-compression step. You won't always hear a loss of audio quality, but it's considered bad practice and it takes extra time to de-compress & re-compress the file.
* There are some special-purpose MP3 editors such as mp3directCut (FREE) or MP3 Sergeon ($30 USD) that can do some very limited editing without decompressing.
MP3 is lossy compression. (Data is thrown-away during compression.) In order to edit an MP3 (with a regular audio editor*) it has to be decompresed first. When you re-save you are going through a 2nd lossy-compression step. You won't always hear a loss of audio quality, but it's considered bad practice and it takes extra time to de-compress & re-compress the file.
* There are some special-purpose MP3 editors such as mp3directCut (FREE) or MP3 Sergeon ($30 USD) that can do some very limited editing without decompressing.