File Formats

The File Type pop-up menu in the File Format section allows you to select a format and make additional settings for the mixdown file.

Wave file: This is the most common file format on the PC platform. Wave files have the extension .wav.
AIFF file: This is an audio file format standard defined by Apple Inc. AIFF files are used on most computer platforms. The files can contain embedded text strings. AIFF files have the extension .aif.
MPEG 1 Layer 3 file: This is a family of standards used for encoding audio-visual information such as movies, video, and music in a digital compressed format. Cubase can read MPEG Layer 2 and MPEG Layer 3. MP3 files are highly compressed files that still provide good audio quality. The files have the extension .mp3.
FLAC file: This is an open source format that reduces the size of audio files by 50 % to 60 % compared to regular Wave files. The files have the extension .flac.
Ogg Vorbis file: This is an open source, patent-free audio encoding and streaming technology. The Ogg Vorbis encoder uses variable bit rate encoding. It offers compressed audio files of small size, but with comparatively high audio quality. The files have the extension .ogg.