Sample Rate Converter – How to Convert Audio Sample Rate for Better Sharing and Playback

Q: I am a music lover, and I also create some songs myself as well as share them on various platforms. Some platforms limit the sample rate of audio. Does anyone recommend a simple and practical sample rate converter? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

A: Before diving into the sample rate converter review, let’s get a quick snapshot of what sample rate is. This can help you better decide which sample rate value you should use.

Sample rate refers to the number of samples of audio carried per second, measured in Hz or kHz (one kHz being 1 000 Hz). For example, a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz means that 44,100 audio samples are taken every second. The higher the sample rate, the more realistic the restoration of the sound is.

With that being said, there is no need to go for higher sample rate always. There is a limit of a “practical” sample rate. Based on the Nyquist-Shannon theorem, 44.1 and 48kHz are still widely adopted as the standard sample rate value for audio reproduction. 44.1 kHz (or 44,100 Hz) is the standard for audio CDs; 48 kHz is commonly used for movies.

If you have bunch of digital audio recordings and want to smoothly convert the sample rate to 44.1kHz or 48kHz for better sharing, try the following 3 handy sample rate converters:
→ WonderFox Sample Rate Converter (Best for batch processing video and audio file sample rate conversions)
→ Audacity (Ideal for changing the sample rate of audio files)
→VLC Media Player (Easily change sample rate and format)

Audacity is a well-regarded audio recording and editing software that is available for free to everyone. This program has been around for years and now can work smoothly with sampling rates beyond 384 kHz(32-bit). If you prefer a free sample rate converter, Audacity can be your first stop. I saw some forums where someone discussed how to convert the audio sample rate from 96kHz to 44.1kHz and save the file in WAV format. The answer is as follows:

Step 1. Visit https://www.audacityteam.org/to download and install Audacity on your device.

Step 2. Launch the free audio editor and head to ‘File’ > ‘Open’ to import your source audio.

Step 3. After that, you can right-click on the left ‘Track Control Panel’. Then select ‘Rate’ and choose ‘44100Hz’. Alternatively, you can set the frame rate in the export settings.

Step 4. Navigate ‘File’ > ‘Export Audio’.

Step 5. Then you can choose to save the audio in the Audacity cloud or directly export it to your computer. I choose ‘Computer’.

Step 6. In the ‘Export Audio’ window, name the file and specify a file path.

Step 7. Select ‘WAV’ as the output format.

Step 8. Then Set the ‘Channels’ to ‘Stereo’ and choose ‘44.1kHz’.

Step 9. For common uses like streaming, 16-bit is a suitable encoding option.

You can find the converted audio in the folder you just set.

As we all know, VLC is more than just a video player, it also comes with many additional features. For example, VLC can be used as a sample rate converter. Now, follow the tutorial to learn how to use it for converting sample rate.

Step 1: Check if you have VLC installed, if not, please download it from https://www.videolan.org/vlc/.

Step 2: Launch VLC and click “Media > Convert / Save”. Click “Add” on the pop-up window to add the file that you want to change. Hit “Convert / Save” at the bottom.

Step 3: On the next window, select the output audio format from “Profile” drop-down menu. Then click “Settings” icon next to Profile. Choose “Audio codec” and then you can set the sample rate as 8000 Hz, 11025Hz, 22050 Hz, 44100 Hz, and 48000 Hz. And click “Save”.

Step 4: Set destination file from the “Browse” option. Finally, click on “Start” button to finish sample rate conversion.