Best “standard” lossless formats (real-world)
1) FLAC (best overall for lossless transport + archiving)
- Lossless compression (bit-perfect vs the source PCM)
- Smaller files than WAV/AIFF
- Widely supported
- Good metadata support (tags, cover art, etc.)
If you’re sending libraries around, archiving masters, moving between machines: FLAC is usually the best choice.
2) WAV (PCM) or AIFF (best for active editing / DAW interchange)
- Uncompressed PCM
- Maximum compatibility with basically everything
- Fast to decode (no CPU overhead)
- Some metadata support (BWF is nice for pro workflows)
If you’re actively working in a DAW or bouncing stems: WAV 24-bit is the common standard.
3) WAV 32-bit float (best “work format” if you’ll process heavily)
- Gives huge headroom and avoids accidental clipping during processing chains
- Great intermediate format when you’ll do multiple operations
For “transmogrifying” audio repeatedly (pitch shift + other work), 32-bit float WAV is the safest internal format.
Recommended workflow
Best practical workflow
- Store / move / archive: FLAC
- Edit / process: decode to WAV 32-bit float inside your editor/DAW
- Deliver: FLAC (lossless) or WAV (if requested)
Bottom line
- Best lossless transport format: FLAC
- Best lossless working/editing format: WAV 32-bit float (or WAV 24-bit if you need wide compatibility)
- Ogg Vorbis: only for final distribution when you accept lossiness (like streaming copies)
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