Convert MP3s quickly and easily with Free MP3 Converter

MP3s let you pack thousands of songs onto one disc, yet they still sound good, especially on your smartphone or portable player. More than one type of encoding goes about calling itself "MP3," and they're not always completely compatible with every device and app. To standardize your MP3 collection, you'll need an MP3 converter, such as Free MP3 Converter from Pianosoft. It can convert your MP3s into several formats and quality levels, and when paired with Winamp, it can upconvert your MP3s to WAVs for compatibility with WAV editors. You can also use it to reduce and convert captured audio from other sources, such as Line In, TV In, and Mic In. Of course, it also makes quick work of converting WAV audio created by the built-in Sound Recorder in Windows; however, it doesn't rip audio from CDs. Plenty of tools do, but they don't always offer many output options. That's where Free MP3 Converter steps in, converting immense WAVs into wee MP3s.

MP3 converters and utilities tend to break down into two camps: those offering maximum control and those designed to be as easy to use as possible. There's a lot of traffic between the two camps, naturally, and while Free MP3 Converter definitely pitches its tent in the easy-to-use camp, it has its share of options, though once you've set them, you can hide them. Free MP3 Converter makes things clear enough for beginners to grasp, such as entry fields labeled Choose Input File and Choose Output File as well as icons labeled Browse Input and Browse Output. Check boxes select easy options such as Voice mode, High Quality, and Mark All as Copyrighted as well as advanced options like Byte swab all data, Downmix stereo to mono, and Do Not Use Short Blocks. We could also specify I/O frequencies, output mode, and bit rate. Once we'd made our choices, we could hide the Options and quickly process batches of files from an efficient minimized view.

Free MP3 Converter is a full-featured converter with many options, but it's easy on the user, too, with an agreeable balance between simplicity and flexibility.