Usually when we talk about compressing files we usually relate it directly to the image formats, so that we can adapt their size. With a smaller size it is possible that we can host them on different websites or send them by email quickly. But, to compress, many other formats can be used, such as audio files. So today we are going to see how to compress an audio file in Windows in a simple way.
When we talk about compressing an audio file, on many occasions it is also linked to a format conversion . This can happen when we have a WAV file that has no quality loss and to compress it we transfer it to MP3 format that does have quality loss, so once converted we will have a less heavy audio file, but also a smaller one. quality. This conversion can be useful for us to be able to send audios by email or upload it to social networks, just as it will also serve to reproduce it on devices where the source file was not compatible.
Lossless compression formats
The most popular lossless compression formats are: WAV, PCM, ALS, TAK, FLAC, ALAC, APE, WV. This means that the audio effects of the audios are the same as in the original audio
Lossy compression formats
The most widely used lossy compression formats are: MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG, etc. This means that when processing the information of the original audio, information is erased to increase the compression rate and therefore obtain smaller files, affecting the quality of the audio.
Windows 10 does not allow converting audio files by default, so it will be necessary to use a third-party application designed for this purpose. In this case we are going to use a free program like Audacity and an online service like Online Audio Converter .
Compress audio files with Audacity
To compress audio files we can use a free program like Audacity, which we can download from its website. It is a tremendously useful and versatile tool, with which we can also perform other functions such as recording the sound from the speakers or cutting a song to create a ringtone, among others. Once we have downloaded and installed it, we will open the application to begin the conversion process.
The first thing we must do is take the file that we want to convert, drag and drop it into the program interface, or select it from the “File”> “Open” tab.
Once we have added the file, we will go back to the “Files” tab and this time we will select the ” Export” option. Here we can select which format we want to convert it to as MP3, WAV or OGG. Once selected, a window will appear, in which we must indicate where the converted file will be stored.
We must also choose the quality of the format , with a value from 0 to 10, being at 5 by default. The higher the quality of the format, the greater will be its weight, but if it is very low, its sound will be very poor. Once selected, click on “Save” .
Then a tab will appear from which we can “Edit metadata tags” . Here we can configure characteristics such as Artist, Track name, Album title, Track number, Year, Genre, among others. We can leave it as it is in the original file or include the modifications that we see necessary. Once finished, click on “Accept” . Then the conversion process will begin, which will surely last no more than a few seconds.
Once finished we will have our compressed audio file. In our case we have passed an MP3 file that has a weight of 10 MB and we have passed it to an OGG file in quality 7 and we have obtained a weight of 7 MB. Later we have converted it back to an OGG file with quality 2 and we have obtained a 3.23 MB file. If we want to reduce the size further, we can choose to edit any unnecessary part as a long silence.
Compress audio files with Online Audio Converter
If we do not want to download any program to convert and reduce our audio files, we can also do it from an online service such as Online Audio Converter, which we can access for free . It supports all formats and we can convert our files into MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, MP2, AMR at different quality types (64 kbps, 128 Kbps, and 320 Kbps).
To start the conversion it is as simple as clicking on “Open” and selecting the desired file. Additionally, we can also import it from Dropbox, Google Drive or a URL. Once the file has been uploaded, we must choose the format to which we will convert it and the quality of it.
Finally, click on “Convert” and in a few seconds we will get our converted and compressed file, which we can download to our computer by clicking on “Save” .