Model FC-24 · Audio conversions shown as photo conversions
Pick a conversion · the photo shows what the same kind of conversion does to a picture
Original master
Converted
Click either photo to move the magnifier. Your own photo shows lossy artifacts even better than the built-in scene.
Sample rate, bit depth, bitrate · three things people mix up, explained simply and then shown
1
Sample rate is the frame rate of sound
How many snapshots of the sound are taken every second. "44.1 kHz" just means 44,100 snapshots per second, the same way a camera shoots 24 frames per second. It's a counting speed, not a sound you hear. It decides how high a pitch can be captured.
The camera version · a bouncing ball, filmed frame by frame
The sound version · one pitch, measured as dots
SnapshotsPitch
2
Bit depth
Bit depth refers to the number of bits of information captured in every single audio sample, which directly determines the amplitude resolution of your digital recording. It measures how accurately you capture the volume of that sound (the vertical amplitude axis).
Bars = snapshots · grey lines = the levels a snapshot is allowed to land on
Magnifier · a tiny piece of the same wave, zoomed way in
What that means for quiet sounds · loudest at the top, hiss at the bottom
Bit depthSnapshotsRecorded level
3
Bitrate is the size of the backpack
How much data per second a file is allowed to use. For MP3 and other lossy files, the encoder decides what to leave behind to fit.
Format
File size · megabytes per minute of stereo audio
Key guide · what to deliver
Destination
Upload this
What listeners get
Spotify (music, via your distributor)
FLAC preferred, WAV accepted · 44.1 kHz or higher · 24-bit if that's your native master (16-bit only if no higher master exists) · stereo. Spotify asks you not to downsample or reduce bit depth yourself.
Ogg Vorbis ≈ 24 / 96 / 160 / 320 kbps (Low → Very high) · Lossless up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC on Premium
Apple Music
24-bit master at the highest native sample rate (Apple Digital Masters). No upsampling, no padding 16-bit up to 24.