aconv - convert between audio formats
$ aconv -i input [--input-audio-codec input-codec] [--audio-codec output-codec] [--audio-format sample-format] -o outputaconv converts between different audio formats, or more precisely, between containers and codecs. aconv can both read from and write to the standard input and output streams. Depending on the audio format used, aconv may or may not act as a streaming converter; that is, aconv may require to read until EOF of the input file to start writing to the output. More details can be found with the encoders and decoders that aconv supports.
The input file option is always required. aconv will try to guess which container and codec the input has, unless the --input-audio-codec option is provided. Note that guessing the codec is not possible for raw formats such as raw PCM streams, therefore such formats always require specifying the input codec option.
The output file may be omitted, in which case aconv does not write any data. If an output codec is provided via --audio-codec, aconv will internally still perform the conversion without writing data. If --audio-codec is not provided, aconv will decode the input and not do anything else. It is recommended that abench be used for audio input testing purposes.
aconv will try to guess the output container and codec based on the file name specified. The codec can be overwritten with the aforementioned --audio-codec option; this is mandatory for the standard output stream where the container and codec cannot be guessed.
By specifying --audio-format, aconv will use a different sample format for the output than what the input file provides. The sample format is the format of the PCM stream that is encoded with the codec, and it specifies multiple parameters such as bit depth, data type, and endiannness. The supported sample formats depend on the codec, but they have common names shared across codecs.
Note that aconv currently only supports codecs which have their own bespoke container. Therefore, the distinction does not currently matter. The names given below are the only recognized names for this codec for the command line options --audio-codec and --input-audio-codec. Some codecs can only be decoded or both encoded and decoded.
mp3 (decode): MPEG Layer III audio codec and container.wav (decode, encode): RIFF WAVE audio codec and container. Supports sample formats u8 and s16le for writing.flac (decode, encode): Free Lossless Audio Codec and container. Supports all integer sample formats for writing.qoa (decode): Quite Okay Audio codec and container.u8: Unsigned 8-bit integers16le: Signed 16-bit integer, little endians24le: Signed 24-bit integer, little endians32le: Signed 32-bit integer, little endianf32le: 32-bit IEEE 754 floating-point number (normalized to the range [-1, 1]), little endianf64le: 64-bit IEEE 754 floating-point number (normalized to the range [-1, 1]), little endianThe option format follows this general pattern: --input_or_output-stream-parameter, where input_or_output is either input when concerning the input stream, or omitted for the output stream (since this is the more common use case), stream currently is always audio, and parameter is the parameter of the stream that is changed.
-i, --input: The input file to convert from. Use - to read from standard input.-o, --output: The output file to write to. Use - to write to standard output.--input-audio-codec: Overwrite the used codec and/or sample format of the input file.--audio-codec: The codec to use for the output file.--audio-format: The sample format to use for the output file.# Decode a FLAC file to WAV
$ aconv -i ~/sound.flac -o ~/sound.wav
# Decode an MP3 file stored in a metadata block of a FLAC file to WAV
$ aconv -i ~/has-mp3-contents.flac --input-audio-codec mp3 -o ~/weird.wav
# Recode WAV to 8-bit and output it to stdout
$ aconv -i ~/music.wav --audio-format u8 -o -