n-Track Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn't n-Track allow to use mp3 files instead of wave files for the tracks audio data?

Compressed audio formats, such as mp3, real-audio or wma, are suited for distributing audio files over the internet or in any situation when the size of regular wave files will make their transmission impractical. On the other hand this formats achieve high compression ratios using algorightms that degrade the audio quality, and so they aren't suited for storing audio data in situations where the sound quality must be kept as high as possible. Also an mp3 file requires a sizeable amount of cpu time for the decoding process. If you multiply that for say 10 or 20 tracks, you'll have a fast P-III struggling just for reading the audio files, without any CPU power left for using effects. And since todays entry level PCs come with at least 20 Gb hard disks, the size advantage of mp3 files stored on the hard disk has become irrelevant. For this reasons n-Track Studio doesn’t support compressed file formats for recording or importing tracks, but it only allows conversion from finished wave files (i.e. created after mixing down) to mp3, ogg or wma.