Best audio file conversion apps

Question
1

I want to record small mp3 files for my web site. Please let me know what you use to record audio for the web.

2

Audacity is the free and simple option. I would go with this one as its been around for a long time and does an excellent job.

1 Like
3

My vote is for OcenAudio, www.ocenaudio.com.

The interface is not as messy as Audacity and the way filters/plugins work is much more logical and well thought-out. They are constantly updating the app, it’s available on all platforms and it’s free (donation-ware).

Keep in mind that regardless what app you use to record you’ll still need to compress it down for web use. OcenAudio can also make that final compression or, you can select very low bitrates/file types during the recording.

Highly recommended.

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4

The title of your post says “conversion”, but you wrote “recording”. So, I’m going to address recording. There are two parts to your question; hardware and software. Let’s start with software.

Your Mac has three free excellent options that I use with podcaster and musician clients.

  1. QuickTime is normally thought of as a video app, but is great for audio recordings as well. It’s fast and simple and has good output options.

  2. GarageBand is exceptional and more involved but rich in features and output selections. This is best if you want to add background music and sounds. GarageBand is also available on your iPad and iPhone and you can share your recordings between devices. GarageBand is a favorite of podcasters.

  3. Voice Memos is an Apple app available on all Apple devices. Very simple and quick to use. I have many musician clients who love this for quick, small recordings for the web.

None of the software is useful without a quality microphone. Depending on which Mac, iPhone, or iPad you have you can use the built in Mics. Otherwise an external 3.5mm or USB mic is what you’ll need. Apple’s wired EarPods have an excellent mic with superb noise cancelling. I use QuickTime and GarageBand for conversions as well.

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5

Thanks so much for taking time to reply. I apologize for my confusing post. My goal is to to create web friendly mp3 audio files. I have used QuickTime and GarageBand in the past to record audio. Recently, I started a project and used QT to record audio. The saved files have an .m4a file extension. I want to convert those files to .mp3.

My mic is a Blue Snowball. It’s much better than the built in mic in my Mac Book Pro,

1 Like
6

Hello @rdecker

To convert sound files you can use Apple apps that are already part of macOS:

  • GarageBand can export as mp3.
  • You can also convert sound files with iTunes (or now Music app) to mp3.
2 Likes
7

I use XLD.app to convert audio files. It’s open source and free.

8

Audacity