Audio - file formats

Audio File Formats

Format	Quality	Data	Particulars
WAV	Lossless	Uncompressed	Space hungry Universal usage
AIFF	Lossless	Uncompressed	Space hungry Apple usage
FLAC	Lossless	COMPRESSED	aka 'Free Lossless Audio Codec' Sound quality same as source Superior to WAV & AIFF (less space) free & Opensource
ALAC	Lossless	COMPRESSED	Not quite as efficient as FLAC Apple proprietary iTunes & iOS supported
APE	Lossless	HIGHLY COMPRESSED	Sound similar quality as FLAC & ALAC But not widely supported Hard on processor (high compression)
MP3	Lossy	COMPRESSED	MPEG Audio Layer 3 Most efficient format Widely supported Good choice for 'lossy' audio
ACC	Lossy	COMPRESSED	Advanced Audio Coding Similar to MP3 – but more efficient Less space than MP3, same sound Almost as widely compatible as MP3
Vorbis	Lossy	COMPRESSED	aka Ogg Vorbis no patent free and open source alternative to MP3 & AAC fewer players support
WM	Lossy	COMPRESSED	Windows Media Audio Microsoft proprietary format Similar to MP3 & ACC Not widely supported

Audio bitrate 

= kilobits per second (amount data processed)

eg  iTunes

      = 256 kilobits of data per every second of song

Bigger the bitrate, bigger the storage space needed

Compression common for audio CDs (to fit more)

Lossless

= no alteration to original file when compressed 

    (compressed to point before data loss)

'Lossy'

= compressing file to save space, but with loss of data

= loss of clarity and quality

= beneficial to users of iPhones (limited storage capacity)

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SOURCE

http://lifehacker.com/5810575/does-bitrate-really-make-a-difference-in-my-music

http://lifehacker.com/5927052/whats-the-difference-between-all-these-audio-formats-and-which-one-should-i-use