WikiSound
Audio Terms Explained
Plain-English explanations of audio concepts — from bitrate and codecs to reverb and mastering. Written for real people, not textbooks.
Audio Fundamentals
The building blocks — concepts that come up in every audio decision.
What Is Bitrate?
Bits per second — what it means, how it affects file size, and when it matters for quality.
Read →What Is Sample Rate?
44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz — what these numbers mean and when higher actually helps.
Read →What Is Frequency in Audio?
How sound frequency relates to pitch, human hearing, and what audio equipment can reproduce.
Read →What Is Audio Quality?
A practical definition — not just bitrate, but what actually determines how audio sounds.
Read →What Is Loudness?
Loudness, volume, and level are not the same thing. Here's how they differ.
Read →What Is Mono vs Stereo?
One channel vs two — why it matters for listening, recording, and file size.
Read →Compression & Formats
How audio files are encoded, stored, and decoded — and why it affects quality.
What Is Lossless Audio?
No data discarded. The decoded file is identical to the original. FLAC, WAV, ALAC.
Read →What Is Lossy Audio?
Permanently compressed audio. What gets removed, how audible it is, and when it's fine.
Read →What Is Audio Compression?
This term means two different things — data compression and dynamic range compression.
Read →What Is an Audio Codec?
The algorithm that encodes audio into a file and decodes it for playback. Every format uses one.
Read →What Is a Container Format?
The file wrapper that holds the codec data. MP4, WAV, and MKV are containers.
Read →Codec vs Container: What's the Difference?
The most commonly confused distinction in audio — explained with real examples.
Read →CBR vs VBR: What's the Difference?
Constant bitrate vs variable bitrate — quality, compatibility, and which to choose.
Read →What Is Transcoding?
Converting from one codec to another — and why repeated transcoding degrades quality.
Read →Format Guides
Everything worth knowing about the most common audio formats.
What Is MP3?
How it works, why it's still everywhere, when to use it, and when to use something else.
Read →What Is WAV?
Uncompressed audio, large files, the format editors rely on — and a common misconception about quality.
Read →What Is FLAC?
Lossless audio, 40–60% smaller than WAV, the preferred archive format. When it's the right choice.
Read →What Is AAC?
The codec inside M4A files — more efficient than MP3 at the same bitrate. Why Apple adopted it.
Coming soonWhat Is OGG?
Open-source, used in games and streaming. What it is and when you'd encounter it.
Coming soonWhat Is Opus?
Extremely efficient codec for voice and streaming — small files, excellent quality.
Coming soonSignal Processing
What happens to audio before it reaches a file — and why it matters when you receive audio.
What Is EQ in Audio?
Equalisation — adjusting frequency balance. The most fundamental audio tool.
Read →What Is Normalization?
Setting a consistent volume ceiling. Why podcast platforms request it.
Read →What Is Clipping in Audio?
What happens when audio exceeds the maximum level — and why it sounds harsh.
Read →What Is Noise Reduction?
Removing background noise from recordings. How it works and when it helps vs hurts.
Read →What Is Audio Artifacting?
The strange sounds that appear in low-bitrate compression — what causes them.
Read →What Is Gain Staging?
Managing levels through a signal chain to avoid noise and distortion.
Read →What Is Distortion in Audio?
Distortion as damage vs distortion as an intentional effect.
Read →Mixing & Production
Concepts from audio production that shape how finished audio sounds.
What Is Mixing vs Mastering?
Two separate stages of audio production — what each one does and why both matter.
Read →What Is Reverb?
How simulated room acoustics work and why reverb appears in almost every recording.
Read →What Is Delay in Audio?
Echo and delay effects — the difference, how they're used, and why timing matters.
Read →What Is a Limiter?
A compressor with a hard ceiling. Used in mastering and broadcast to control peak levels.
Read →What Is Panning?
Placing audio in the stereo field. Why mix engineers move sounds left and right.
Read →What Is Sidechain Compression?
Using one audio signal to control the compression of another. The "pumping" effect explained.
Read →Looking for practical guides?
The Guides section covers format comparisons, bitrate decisions, and conversion workflows — step-by-step answers for specific tasks.
Want to go deeper?
The Learn section has longer in-depth articles on bitrate theory, conversion quality, format decisions, and why some conversions don't improve quality.