AAC and MP3 File Formats

AAC audio is best known use is as the default audio format of Apple's iPhone, iPod, iTunes, and the format used for all iTunes Store audio. Sony’s Play Station also adopts AAC audio as its audio and MPEG-4 video standard format.

AAC audio format allows developers more flexibility to design codecs than MP3 does. However in terms of whether AAC audio is better than MP3 audio, the advantages of AAC audio are not entirely decisive, and the MP3 audio specification, while outdated, has proven surprisingly robust in spite of considerable flaws. AAC audio and HE-AAC audio are universally accepted as better than MP3 audio at low bitrates.

iTunes supports a "Variable bit rate" (VBR) encoding option which encodes AAC tracks in an "Average bit rate" (ABR) scheme. As of October 2007, Apple has still not added support for HE-AAC which is fully part of the MP4 standard or true VBR encoding to iTunes. Apple's iPhone supports AAC and FairPlay protected AAC files used as the default encoding format in the iTunes store.

Besides the bit rate of an encoded piece of audio, the quality of MP3 files also depends on the quality of the encoder itself, and the difficulty of the signal being encoded. As the MP3 standard allows quite a bit of freedom with encoding algorithms, different encoders may feature quite different quality, even when targeting similar bit rates. As an example, in a public listening test featuring two different MP3 encoders at about 128 kbit/s。

Free Download for Converting AAC to MP3

AAC is the default audio format of Apple's iPhone, iPod and iTunes. Most of the music in iTunes Store is in AAC format. Sony PSP also adopts AAC as its audio standard format. However, AAC is not supported by all media players. If your media player is not compatible with AAC, especially the DRM protected AAC audio, you have to convert the AAC files to MP3 or WMA, or other unprotected audio formats that can playback on your audio player.

NoteBurner AAC Audio Converter is an excellent audio conversion tool that can help you transcode AAC format to MP3, WMA and WAV formats. Working with iTunes, NoteBurner AAC Audio Converter can convert AAC to MP3, AAC to WMA and AAC to WAV.

NoteBurner AAC Audio Converter is able to convert iTunes M4P and M4A to WAV and unprotected WMA formats.

Utilizing virtual burning technology, NoteBurner Audio Converter can also convert any DRM protected WMA, M4P music and M4B, MP3, rax, MP4, WAV, RA, snd, OGG, AIF music to unprotected MP3, WAV, WMA formats at fast speed and high quality.