Mastering is the final, critical stage of quality control. It’s the process of taking your mix and making it sound professional, polished, and loud enough for release. But the quality of your final master is dependent on the quality of the file you start with.

This brings us to one of the most important file choice you’ll make: MP3 or WAV?

The “Lossy” vs. “Lossless” Challenge

The difference is simple, but the impact can be big:

• An MP3 is a “lossy” file. To achieve a small file size, it uses compression that permanently deletes audio data. Think of it as a low-resolution, compressed JPEG.
• A WAV is a “lossless” file. It is the full, uncompressed, original studio-quality file. It’s the high-resolution “RAW photo” of your music.

You can’t master what isn’t there. If you start with an MP3, you’re starting with a file that already has missing frequencies and digital “artifacts” (e.g that ‘swishy’ sound on cymbals).

The mastering process, which adds brightness and compression, will only exaggerate these flaws.

How This Affects Your Masterchannel Master

Our AI mastering engine is built to perform a deep, surgical analysis of your audio.

When you upload a WAV file, you give our AI the complete, accurate dataset. It analyzes the real music you created, allowing it to make intelligent, precise adjustments to the full frequency spectrum and dynamic range.

When you upload an MP3 file, you are forcing our AI to work with compromised data. It’s trying to polish a file that already has data missing.

This quality chain continues to distribution. Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music require a high-quality (lossless) file. If you master an MP3, your entire professional release is based on a low-quality, “lossy” foundation.

The Bottom Line: Start Strong to Finish Strong

While Masterchannel accepts both formats, we always encourage you to upload a WAV file for the best possible result.

You’ve worked hard on your mix. Give it the best possible foundation for a professional master. Upload a WAV and let our AI work with the full quality your music deserves.