Audio formats in plain language

File properties often show MP3, FLAC, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit, or 320 kbps. Those labels describe how the sound is stored. They are not a test.

This page is only here to help you choose: what to keep for daily listening, when the numbers matter, and when to leave them alone. The long glossary is HiFi audio glossary.

Thirty-second answer

Your situation	Keep this
Laptop, Bluetooth, commute	MP3 at 160–320 kbps, or AAC, is enough
Wired headphones, tags you want to edit later	FLAC is a better archive
Editing in other audio software	WAV or FLAC
First day in ECHO	Test with one MP3 and one FLAC
Marketing for DSD, 768 kHz, or MQA	Do not convert yet. Get stable sound first

Lossy vs lossless

Before a computer stores sound, it is a waveform. A file only has a few ways to keep it:

Term	Plain meaning	Common formats
Lossy	Throws away detail that is usually hard to hear, so the file is smaller	MP3, AAC, OGG, Opus
Lossless compression	Same PCM data as the source, just packed smaller	FLAC, ALAC
Uncompressed	Also full PCM, largest files	WAV, AIFF

Lossless does not mean “will sound better.” It means this file was not reduced again. A muddy recording stays muddy as FLAC.

Lossy is not “unlistenable.” On a commute, many people cannot tell a 320 kbps MP3 from FLAC.

What each format is for

Format	Good for	Poor fit
MP3	Compatibility, test tracks, daily listening	Repeated re-encoding gets worse
AAC / M4A	Common in the Apple world, small files	Some purchases are protected and will not play
FLAC	A library you want to keep, with tags and art	Larger than MP3
WAV	Hand-off to other audio tools	Large, and tags are often incomplete
DSD / DSF / DFF	You already have the gear and know the mode	First-week tests; more silent / half-speed failures

Sample rate, bit depth, bitrate

Store pages love these numbers.

Term	Meaning	Daily takeaway
Sample rate	How many slices per second, such as `44.1 kHz`	CD is 44.1 kHz. Higher is not automatically audible
Bit depth	How fine each slice is, such as `16 bit` or `24 bit`	16 bit already covers normal listening levels
Bitrate	How much data a lossy file uses per second, such as `320 kbps`	MP3 below 128 kbps is where “digital grit” shows up more often

A CD ripped to FLAC is usually 44.1 kHz / 16 bit. That is the complete CD, not a cut-down version.

96 kHz / 24 bit can be called Hi-Res. That is a file spec. It does not mean a better mix, and it does not mean your headphones can play it.

Bluetooth often encodes the stream again. Then FLAC vs 320 kbps MP3 is a smaller difference than people expect. To see whether output is being altered, read Audio output.

Should you convert everything to FLAC

Idea	Advice
You already have FLAC	Keep it. Do not transcode to MP3 as the archive
You only have 320 kbps MP3	Keep listening. Converting to FLAC does not invent lost detail
“Upgrade to DSD so it sounds better”	That changes the container. It does not recover the session
Two formats of one album	Keep one as the library copy

Conversion does not fix bad tags, missing covers, or silence. Use Library and Audio output for those.

How to read this in ECHO

After import, open a track’s details. You should see format, sample rate, and bit depth.

Use that to answer:

Is this a normal MP3 or FLAC? If yes, it is a good test track.
Is it DSD or a very high sample rate? If playback fails, switch to a normal file first.
Does one album mix two formats? The album view may look like two albums.

Folder layout is in How to keep music folders tidy.

If playback fails, change the file before the settings

Symptom	Try this first
Only one track is silent	Play a normal MP3
Only DSD is silent or half-speed	Turn DSD options off and play FLAC
Some tracks jump in volume	That is loudness. See Why some songs are much louder
Every format is silent	Not a format problem. See Audio output

EQ: EQ guide
Long glossary: HiFi audio glossary
Coming from a streaming app: Switching from streaming apps