What is an MP3 file?
MP3 plays on absolutely everything, from a car stereo to a phone to a twenty year old player in a drawer. It is far smaller than the original recording because it drops sound you are unlikely to hear, and at a decent setting most people cannot tell. You can convert MP3 files here, both into the format and out of it.
Specification
| Full name | MPEG-1 Audio Layer III |
|---|---|
| Extensions | .mp3 |
| Media type | audio/mpeg |
| Compression | Lossy |
| Transparency | — |
| Animation | — |
| Multiple pages | — |
| Colour depth | 16-bit output, 32 to 320 kbps |
| Size limits | — |
| Introduced | 1993 |
| Developed by | Fraunhofer IIS |
| Standard | Open |
| Browser support | Every browser, including older ones |
What MP3 is used for
- Music libraries and portable players
- Podcasts and spoken word audio
- Audio attachments that must open anywhere
- Car stereos and older players
Strengths and limitations
What MP3 does well
- Plays on every device, browser and stereo ever built
- All relevant patents have expired, so it is free to use
- Small files at settings most listeners cannot fault
Where MP3 falls short
- Detail is thrown away, and converting again takes a little more
- Newer formats sound better at the same file size
- No surround sound in practice, and no perfect-copy mode
Convert MP3 to
Every target this format can be written out as, each on its own page.
Convert to MP3
Everything that can be turned into a MP3 file.
Tools that accept MP3
Questions about MP3
What is a .mp3 file?
MP3 plays on absolutely everything, from a car stereo to a phone to a twenty year old player in a drawer. The extension .mp3 identifies it, and its media type is audio/mpeg.
How do I open an MP3 file?
Any current browser will open it directly, so dragging the file into a tab is usually enough. Most operating systems also preview it without extra software.
Is MP3 lossy or lossless?
Lossy. That means detail is discarded during encoding and each re-save compounds the loss, so keep an untouched master where quality matters.
What is MP3 good for?
Plays on every device, browser and stereo ever built. All relevant patents have expired, so it is free to use. Small files at settings most listeners cannot fault. In practice that makes it a good fit for music libraries and portable players, and Podcasts and spoken word audio.
What are the drawbacks of MP3?
Detail is thrown away, and converting again takes a little more. Newer formats sound better at the same file size. No surround sound in practice, and no perfect-copy mode.