How to Convert WMA to MP3

WMA and MP3 defined
WMA is short for Windows Media Audio, an audio file format made by Microsoft which is used for recording music and audio files. MP3 is also an audio file format developed by the Fraunhofer Institute. While both are essentially audio file formats, MP3 boasts being nearly universal, able to be played on any digital player or computer. Microsoft claims WMA has better audio quality when the file is recorded at lower bit rates compared to MP3 audio file recorded at higher bit rates. Recording at higher bit rates means better audio quality but also bigger file sizes while recording at lower bit rates means smaller file sizes but lesser audio quality. Recording at lower bit rates is useful if you want to pack more songs into a CD. However choosing bit rates too low may mean audio quality may suffer.
Debates on Microsoft's claim of better quality compared to MP3 rages on as various audiophiles and independent studies show different data either proving or disproving Microsoft's claim. Whether WMA is better than MP3 remains to be proven. What is true however is that MP3 is better supported than WMA. Many players do not play WMA files, forcing users to convert these files to an audio file supported by the music player. Thus, if you have WMA audio files (denoted by the .wma file extension) and you want to play it on your iPod or iTunes, then you need to convert WMA to MP3 first in order to play it on your iPod or iTunes.
Why convert WMA to MP3?
Aside from personal preference owing to either wanting better quality or smaller file size, converting from WMA to MP3 will allow those who have WMA audio files wishing to playback those files on players that do not support WMA to play those files without much trouble. Simply put, compatibility issues forces users to convert WMA to MP3; as MP3 is universally supported and is more common than WMA.
How to convert WMA to MP3
changing from one format to another is quite easy. There are many audio file converters available on the web. There are free converters (shareware or open source software) and there are licensed converters. Choosing which to use does not really matter so long as you achieve your objective: converting WMA to MP3 or vice-versa.
Step 1: install the necessary software converter
Step 2: launch the software and configure the settings to convert audio files into MP3 (there are other audio formats to choose from aside from MP3; such as AAC, OGG, FLAC, MP4, etc). You can also change the bit rate conversion of your audio file here
Step 3: choose the WMA audio file you want changed to MP3
Step 4: choose where you want to save your converted file
Step 5: name your converted file - by default it will usually carry the old file name with just the file extension (from .wma to .mp3) changing
Step 6: Click ENCODE or OK or whatever button the interface shows to start the conversion process.
That's it. You can now play your music files in any player you own.

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Jack Walter is an expert when it comes to audio converters. To learn how to convert ape to wav or how to use ogg to mp3 converter visit audio convertor.

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