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BEC_357
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File size issues converting WAV > MP3 (huge MP3s!)

Apr 19, 2012 10:55 AM

Hi there - I'm a web designer who has to do sound editing on occasion and am new to Audition and have previously only used Soundbooth for basic editing/conversions (which was always fine w/the exception of no razor tool).  Basically, my problem is after editing my WAV file and exporting to MP3, my files are generally 2 to 3 times the size of the original WAV file.

 

My process is pretty straightforward - after edits to a single track I select: Export > Multitrack mixdown > Entire Session

 

I then select MP3 as my format and 32000 Hz Stereo, 8-bit as my sample type (Audition will not let me select anything lower than that).

 

I end up with a massive MP3 every time.  For example, the WAV file I'm starting with is around 15mb, and the MP3 is usually upwards of 40mb.  This is happening every time with various files of similar size.  I gotta think I'm missing something basic here.

 

Anyone have any ideas or thoughts on what I'm doing wrong?

 

Thanks in advance,

-b

514 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: BEC_357, Apr 19, 2012 3:54 PM
 
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  • emmrecs
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    1. emmrecs,
    Apr 19, 2012 11:42 AM   in reply to BEC_357
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    Exporting a multitrack mixdown suggests you are using several, or at least more than one, .wav file.  So how many are involved?  If the number is actually several, say 4 or 5 or more, then the resultant mp3 could easily be bigger than any one of the .wavs.

     

    However, I wonder whether you are actually working on ONE .wav file, making edits to it and then want to convert it to .mp3.  If so, and I do this sort of thing quite regularly, in Waveform view choose Save As, and select .mp3 as the format.  You will then have a choice of bit rates, sample rate etc.  Saving will then, most certainly, produce a file much smaller than the original .wav.  ( I just did a check on the most recent file I did this to: the original .wav was over 260MB, the resulting .mp3 just over 9MB.  It was speech only, so quite a low bit rate was fine.)

     
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  • ryclark
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    2. ryclark,
    Apr 19, 2012 1:08 PM   in reply to emmrecs
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    Can you play back the large mp3 and does it contain your audio? If your audio is there does it only play for the length of your original audio file and is the rest just silence?

     
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  • BEC_357
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    3. BEC_357,
    Apr 19, 2012 1:44 PM   in reply to ryclark
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    Thanks for the responses

     

    @emmrecs: I am working with a few WAV files so need the multitrack interface to edit.  These WAV files total up to around 40MB.  Audition also has a threshold for how low I can go with my export settings (won't let me go under 32000 kbps).

     

    @ryclark:  I assume you're thinking there might be an artifact at the end making the file much longer?  Yeah, no signs of that, audio plays fine and stops at the end.

     

    Let me know if you guys have any other thoughts.  At this point I'm gonna have to scramble for a Plan B.

     

    Thanks  again,

    -b

     
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  • BEC_357
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    4. BEC_357,
    Apr 19, 2012 2:17 PM   in reply to BEC_357
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    I think I might have figured it out guys, thanks for the help!

     
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  • Teetow1
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    5. Teetow1,
    Apr 19, 2012 3:01 PM   in reply to BEC_357
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    Feel free to share the solution to the problem, to help others who might encounter it.

     
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  • BEC_357
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    6. BEC_357,
    Apr 19, 2012 3:54 PM   in reply to Teetow1
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    Basically, I'm an idiot and hadn't experimented enough with the Format settings (at first they appeared to be greyed out).  Newbie mistake trying to learn too many components of a new app at the same time.

     

    Thanks again for the help, it kept my trial-and-error alive which led to a fix

     

    -b

     
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