Some sound files are .wav and I need them to be mp3 sound files. Any idea how to do the conversion?
What’s the difference between the two formats anyways?
Thanks in advance.
Chris
The difference is that .wav is uncompressed. .wav is virtually the same format as on CDs. mp3 are compressed by taking out all the little things that you can’t normally hear. A mp3 file is about 1 tenth the size of a .wav file.
You can convert them easily enough using iTunes. Look under the ‘Advanced’ tab.
Or download and install CDex.
Thank you, all.
I installed iTunes, and found no options under the advance tab to convert the file. I then installed CDex, and although it seems to be the right tool for the job, I can’t figure it out for the life of me. 
Really? How odd. Perhaps if you select the file you want to convert. On the Mac version, it’s the third option from the top.
OK, figured it out! CDex automatically saves the converted wav file in “my music” and it is now a mp3 file.
Thanks for the explanation, BFM, thanks for the suggestion Jaboney (although it did not work for me), and thanks for the solution, Chris. 
Yay!
The fourth selection down says: “convert to AAC” and that works, but not sure where the file is saved, or if it is saved at all, and not sure what “AAC” means. 
I’m sure it works if it works for you, I just can’t figure it out.
The fourth selection down says: “convert to AAC” and that works, but not sure where the file is saved, or if it is saved at all, and not sure what “AAC” means. I’m sure it works if it works for you, I just can’t figure it out.[/quote]
AAC is just another mp3 like format…
There are several types of lossy audio formats though, mp3 being the most lossy of them all. there’s wma and a bunch of other types like ogg, aac, wma. There are also lossless formats that can compress a WAV file without altering them in any way, since it compresses similar to the way WINZIP compresses files. So it results in a file roughly about half the size of the original wav file but it does not take away anything. Some example include FLAC, APE, WMA lossless (same as wma but larger), also apple lossless…
I think wma is good for flash based mp3 players if its supported, even a 64kbit file will sound as good as a 128kbit mp3 file but it’s much smaller. Can fit about 8 albums in 256 meg…
Not sure if this is germane or not, but for non-Mac users like me – I use a freeware program called “Switch”. When you download, it will give you a trial version for the paid program, but it doesn’t matter – just choose “no” when the trial period comes to an end, and you can continue to use the free features, which offer all the format changes I would ever need.
It works on Mac or PC: http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html
Audacity.
Audacity can convert, but it’s mostly for editing.
dBpowerAmp is excellent for good easy converting from most audio formats to most any other.
Total Video Converter does pretty much the same for video and audio.
Brian