MP3 (MPEG 1 Layer 3) Files

MP3 files are highly compressed files that still provide good audio quality. They have the extension .mp3.

  • To open the settings for MP3 files, select MPEG 1 Layer 3 in the File Type pop-up menu.

Sample Rate

Sets the sample rate for the mixdown file.

Bit Rate

Sets the bit rate for the MP3 file. The higher the bit rate, the better the audio quality and the larger the file. For stereo audio, 128 kBit/s is considered to be providing good audio quality results.

Export as

Allows you to select a channel mode for the mixdown file:

  • Interleaved

    Allows you to export to an interleaved file.

  • Split Channels

    Allows you to export the 2 channels of a stereo bus or all subchannels of a multi-channel bus as separate mono files.

  • Mono Downmix

    Allows you to downmix all the subchannels of a stereo or surround channel or bus to a single mono file.

    For stereo, the Stereo Pan Law as defined in the Project Setup dialog is applied to avoid clipping.

    For surround, the channels are summed and divided through the number of channels used (in case of a 5.1 channel = (L+R+C+LFE+Ls+Rs)/6).

  • L/R Channels from Surround

    Allows you to export only the left and right subchannels of a multi-channel bus into a stereo file.

High-Quality Mode

Sets the encoder to a different resampling mode. This may give better results depending on your settings. However, it does not allow you to select the Sample Rate.

Insert ID3 Tag

Includes ID3 Tag information in the exported file.

Edit ID3 Tag

Opens the Setup ID3 Tag dialog that allows you to enter information about the file. This information is embedded in the file and can be displayed by most MP3 playback applications.