Audio Hardware - Software
Example of a MIDI sound file. The file size is a very compact 60KB, yet the audio plays for a full 5 1/2 minutes (330 seconds). However with MIDI files, vocals are not possible, and the sound can sound a bit like an electronic organ. MIDI was one of the first sound formats used on PCs. MIDI is used mainly for background music in gaming applications due to their extremely small size and low CPU utilization requirements.
Example of a MP3 sound file. The file size is a compact 469KB and realistic audio plays for a full 30 seconds. The original soundtrack is fully reproducible with the MP3 compression format without any noticeable loss in audio quality. This clip is an excellent example of vocals. Typically this format can produce approximately 680 minutes of high quality audio on a single 650MB CD!
Example of a wave sound file. The file size is a large 732KB and plays for a short 4 1/4 seconds. This is the format used with the standard audio CD that can hold up to 74 minutes of audio. This format has the highest audio quality.