Audio files can be HUGE in size.

Some recording devices provide audio files in the wav format that can be as almost 700MB per hour. It is way to much if you want to move such files over the internet.

Fortunately there is an easy solution that allows to compress audio files so they are 10 times smaller, practically without loosing the quality.

There is a number of formats and tools to compress audio files and we will present a tool called WinLAME that allows to compress audio files to the MP3 format.

In order to install the tool,  read and understand the note on the site.

http://winlame.sourceforge.net/download.php

and then download WinLAME.

The installation process is very simple - just double click on the installer, click on the 'Next' and 'Finish' buttons when prompted.

Start WinLAME from the 'Start' button on your Windows computer.

Click on the 'Add files...' icon in the top right side of the window, and select the files you want to convert.

When the files are selected, click on the 'Next' button.

Make sure that you choose 'LAME mp3 Encoder' as the output mode. Check and modify (if needed) the output location. This will be the folder where the compressed files will be saved. Click on the 'Next' button.

For the internet use, select the 'VirtualDub' option. It will give you all quality you need keeping the output files small. Click on the 'Next' button.

Click on the start button to start the conversion.

The mp3 audio files will be located in the 'output location' selected in a previous step.