What is the Best Audio Format for DJs?

Understand the file types you DJ with and learn the pros and cons of each audio format.

James Harbrecht
6 min •
Jan 21, 2025
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Deciding the best audio format for DJs can be tricky. There are a lot of different file types to choose from and they all have their pros and cons: so it’s always a good idea to know the differences and what the best options are for you. We put together a quick guide on what to look out for so you can choose the right format to suit your needs.

There are 3 main types of digital music file:

Uncompressed, lossless

Pros:

The most common uncompressed files are WAV and AIFF. Both of these file formats are known for preserving the highest quality sound from the original recording. If you play downloaded files and want uncompromising quality, lossless is the way to go.

Using a lossless format is particularly important if you’re playing on a good sound system, as a good speaker system will highlight the nuances and details still present in the file compared to a lossy format like MP3 (more on that later).

It’s also a big factor if you’re changing the tempo/pitch of the track you’re playing. Changing the tempo introduces digital distortion and artifacts that are far more noticeable with lossy format like MP3s.

Cons:

AIFF and WAV files are significantly bigger than their compressed counterparts, such as MP3s. A typical 6 minute track in WAV or AIFF would be around 63MB, whereas an 320kbp MP3 file would be around 14.4MB. This means you’ll need bigger hard drives and USBs to store your library. There could also be a slightly bigger loading time due to the larger file size when using a DJ player, such as CDJ-3000.

Another downside of WAV files is the lack of metadata available. This can mean the track and artist name aren’t displayed properly when downloading this type of file - changing this information manually is not fun.

This is not an issue for AIFF files, as they contain metadata. When downloading an AIFF file on the Beatport store you can select the naming format to suit you. You will also get the artwork as part of your download.

Compressed, lossy

Pros:

It’s safe to say the MP3 format is the best-known and most widely used in the world. This compressed format was made more for convenience than sound quality, becoming the go-to standard for the average music listener with the rise of the iPod. Its size allowed for a decent amount of tracks to be carried around in your pocket, whilst the 320kbps version maintained a good (enough) sound quality. The smaller file size also means MP3s are typically cheaper than their lossless, uncompressed counterparts.

Cons:

To achieve the smaller size, data from the original audio recording is removed. The data removed represents the frequency range that the human ear can't hear. The issue with this method is that low end frequencies are particularly important to dance music. Even if you can’t hear some of the lower frequencies, you can feel them. This might not be an issue on smaller speakers, but on a good sound system an MP3 file can sound much ‘thinner’ than a lossless file.

Worse still are MP3 files that use a lower bitrate than the top end, 320kbps version. The classic example being a low quality, illegally ripped file - we have all heard these and know they sound very bad indeed.

Lower bitrate files, in the 128-192kbps range, are typically used for things like digital radio and streaming. They are fine to use for home speakers or your car, but would not be at all suitable for a nightclub or festival speaker system.

MP3 vs AAC

The AAC file is Apple’s version of the lossy audio format. It’s similar to the better-known MP3 file, but with one key difference. The most commonly used AAC file uses a lower bitrate of 256kbps, but sounds just as good as a 320kbps MP3 file. This slightly lower bitrate means a 6 minute long 256kbps AAC file would typically be around 11.5MB. This is roughly 20% smaller than the 14.4MB 320kbps MP3 equivalent.

Compressed, lossless

Pros:

The most well known file of this type is the FLAC file. An open-sourced format, its name is an acronym for Free Lossless Audio Codec. FLAC files are compressed without losing any audio data, meaning the sound quality remains the same as the original recording.

This makes them a perfect middle ground between a WAV/AIFF and an MP3 and possibly the best audio format for DJs. They maintain the lossless sound quality of a WAV or AIFF, but come in a significantly smaller file size. A typical 6 minute long FLAC file would be around 35-40MB, which is significantly smaller than the 63MB WAV/AIFF equivalent.

Cons:

Some older DJ players don’t accept FLAC files, although this isn’t an issue with most modern players.

Summary

Every file format has its advantages and disadvantages and you could make an argument to use any of the file formats mentioned in a certain instance.

Looking at the best options for a Beatport user, our top choice for Beatport store users would be using either AIFF or FLAC. With AIFF, the sound quality is just as the artist intended and the metadata and artwork are available, unlike with WAVs. This is also the case with FLAC - you get the metadata, but also make a saving on storage space with the smaller file size. If you are using newer DJ players, you should also avoid any compatibility issues. Choose your preferred file format for downloads here.

For Beatport Streaming users, our top choice is FLAC. There is no compromise on sound quality and the file size is low enough to make sure streaming loading times aren’t an issue.

You can try high-quality, lossless streaming with a free 30-day trial of the Beatport Streaming professional plan here.

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