A codec (Coder/Decoder) converts an analog signal to a digital bitstream, and another identical codec converts the digital bitstream back into an analog signal.

Codec's are used to encode audio for storage on digital mediums, such as CD's and computer files.

Audio codec's are also used to transmit audio over digital transmission lines, such as SPDIF.

Audio Codecs

Audio codecs generally fall into two groups, codecs that use lossy compression and those that use lossless compression.

Lossy Audio Codecs

Audio codecs which use lossy compression include:

  • MP3
  • AC3
  • AAC
  • ADPCM
  • ATRAC
  • DTS
  • MP2
  • Musepack
  • Ogg Vorbis
  • WMA
  • ADPCM
  • ATRAC
  • Perceptual Audio Coding
  • TwinVQ

Lossless Audio Codecs

Audio codecs which use lossless compression include:Audio Codecs

  • Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
  • Apple Lossless (ALAC)
  • Direct Stream Transfer (DST)
  • LA (Lossless Audio)
  • Lossless Predictive Audio Compression (LPAC)
  • Lossless Transform Audio Compression (LTAC)
  • Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP)
  • Monkey's Audio APE
  • OptimFROG
  • RealAudio Lossless
  • RKAU
  • Shorten (SHN)
  • The True Audio (TTA)
  • WavPack lossless
  • WMA Lossless