WAV, MP3, or both?

I started out only giving mp3 files due to the simple fact that WAV takes up more space, but seeing how the quality is a ton better with WAV than mp3, I started including both formats in all my uploads.

As said before, some video software will only accept one or the other. After Effects takes WAV while something like Movie Maker may only take mp3. If you provide both, then you know your customer will be able to use it regardless of their editor of choice

I’ve only submitted 320kbps MP3 files so far, and we’ve just reached our 100th sale. But since folks are thinking that it may add more sales, if not more value, then I’ll be sure to include a WAV file next time. Of course customers can always request a WAV file after purchase. However, that’s probably a pain.

I’ve converted 320 kbps MP3 files to a WAV , to my ears, I can’t tell the difference. Of course my ears are shot from using headphones and playing in a band. Damn loud rock-n-rool. Cheers, and thanks for the advice

thesensercomplex said
I’ve converted 320 kbps MP3 files to a WAV , to my ears, I can’t tell the difference. Of course my ears are shot from using headphones and playing in a band. Damn loud rock-n-rool. Cheers, and thanks for the advice

Converting mp3 to wav will be exactly the same quality. Converting your source wav to mp3 will be a different story.

Think of it this way. If you have a 320k mp3, convert it to 96k mp3, Then convert it back to 320k. The quality of your new mp3 will be 96k, even though you up-sampled it to 320k. Quality can only go down, not up. So it’s always better to have your exported audio from your DAW as high as possible to start with, before you start converting it to compressed format like mp3.

I always include both .wav and .mp3. For Windows, I find that one of the best converters (totally free) is “NHC Switch”. Very fast and convenient (right click on .wav and convert to mp3).