Audio compression is a crucial task for anyone working with multimedia, whether it's for reducing file sizes for easier sharing or optimizing storage space. While there are numerous third-party applications available for audio compression, macOS provides built-in tools that can accomplish this task effectively. This article will guide you through the process of compressing audio files using macOS's built-in tools, specifically leveraging the Terminal and the afconvert command.

Examples:

1. Using afconvert in Terminal: afconvert is a powerful command-line utility on macOS that can convert and compress audio files. Here’s how you can use it:

   • Step 1: Open Terminal Open the Terminal application on your Mac. You can find it in Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

   • Step 2: Navigate to the Directory Use the cd command to navigate to the directory containing your audio file. For example:

     cd /path/to/your/audio/files

   • Step 3: Compress the Audio File Use the afconvert command to compress your audio file. Here’s an example of compressing a WAV file to an AAC file:

     afconvert input.wav -d aac -f m4af output.m4a

     In this command:

     • input.wav is your original audio file.
     • -d aac specifies the codec for the output file.
     • -f m4af specifies the file format for the output file.
     • output.m4a is the name of the compressed audio file.

2. Using QuickTime Player: QuickTime Player, a built-in application on macOS, also allows for basic audio compression.

   • Step 1: Open QuickTime Player Open QuickTime Player from the Applications folder.

   • Step 2: Open the Audio File Go to File > Open File and select the audio file you want to compress.

   • Step 3: Export the Audio File Go to File > Export As > Audio Only. Choose the desired format (e.g., AAC) and save the file. This will compress the audio file to the selected format.