How to convert WAV format to MP3 using LAME with Audacity

If you have a bunch of WAV files on your computer, you will know how much hard disk space they occupy. If you are looking to save memory by switching to another format (meaning a conversion does not retain the original quality), one of the most popular solutions is to convert to MP3 format. However, if you have never done this, one of the barriers you will face is choosing the right software to do this.

There are countless tools to convert MP3 files from many different formats on the Internet, but the quality of the MP3 files they create may have changed dramatically. One of the best solutions to use is to combine the following two tools:

1. Audacity: This is a free audio editing software that has some impressive features and is easy to use. Audacity can be used for some operating systems such as Windows, Mac and Linux.
2. LAME: MP3 encoder can create high quality converters. You can use LAME for Audacity as a plugin.

Install Audacity or LAME

1. If you haven't installed Audacity yet, the first thing to do is install it right on your computer. You can download the latest version for your operating system from Audacity's website or download Audacity here.
2. LAME is not included with Audacity, so you will also need to download binary files. You can find a list of helpful links on the LAME binaries webpage. Note that you need to select the appropriate part for your operating system.

If you have a question about choosing an LAME package to install, here are some quick instructions for you:

1. Windows: Download the LAME encoder implementation package from Buanzo's website ( https://lame.buanzo.org/#lamewindl ). Double click to install the downloaded file and accept the default path to the destination file.
2. Mac OS: Download the LAME dmg package from the Buanzo website ( https://lame.buanzo.org/#lameosxdl ). Unzip the downloaded .dmg file. Double-click the .pkg file and install the libmp3lame.dylib dynamic library into / usr / local / lib / audacity.

Convert WAV format to MP3

After installing Audacity and LAME, it's time to start converting from WAV to MP3.

1. Run Audacity and click File > Open .
2. Select the WAV file you want to convert and then click the Open button.
3. When the file has been uploaded to Audacity, click File > Export Audio .
4. Click Save As Type in the menu and select MP3 Files.
5. Click Options (near the cancel button) to go to the MP3 setup screen.
6. Select Bitrate mode. To get the best conversion, select Preset mode and choose Insane 320 Kbps . If you want the file size to be proportional to quality, choose Variable bitrate mode with initial quality setting of 0.
7. Click OK > Save .
8. Edit any data you need and then click OK .
9. Audacity will now start converting audio to MP3 format.

Audacity cannot find LAME encoder!

If Audacity requires the location of the LAME encoder, do the following:

1. Use the browse button to navigate to the folder where you extracted the LAME binary files. The file name will be lame_enc.dll for Windows and libmp3lame.dylib for Mac.
2. Click the .dll file or .dylib, and then click the Open button.

Alternatively, you can click Edit > Preferences > Libraries in Audacity and use the Locate button to point to the location of the LAME plugin.

The default location in Windows is C: program filesLAME For Audacity

For MAC OS, this plugin will be found in / usr / local / lib / audacity /

See more:

1. How to convert video to mp3 using Free Video To MP3 WMA Converter
2. How to rip music from video on computer with AV Video Converter