September 7, 2026 • 9 mins
Your recording software is full of buttons that look harmless until you touch one and your audio suddenly sounds tiny, distorted, or wildly loud. We want to take that stress off the table by translating the most common audio podcasting terms into plain English so you can make confident decisions fast.
Today's episode is part of our mini series defining podcasting terminology. Check out last week's episode for more podcast terms defined: Podcast Terms Explained: General Podcasting Basics.
If you have a question about producing an audio-first podcast, reach out to the Podcaster Success team by emailing support@buzzsprout.com.
Have a topic or question we should address on a future episode? Text us or email the Buzzsprout Podcaster Success Team at support@buzzsprout.com.
Keep podcasting!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Cara Pacetti (00:00):
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at BuzzSprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Last week, we kicked off athree-part series all about
podcasting terminology.
(00:21):
We started with some of thegeneral terms you're likely to
hear as a new podcaster, likeRSS feed, listening directories,
and more.
But today, we're getting alittle more technical.
In my opinion, this is a funepisode.
We're focusing on the terms youwill likely hear when producing
an audio first podcast.
Terms like MP3, WAV, monoversus stereo, and gain versus
(00:46):
volume.
Basically, if you've everlooked at your recording
software and thought, I don'tknow what any of these buttons
mean, and frankly, I'm afraid totouch them, then this episode
is for you.
Let's break down some of themost common audio podcasting
terms and more importantly, whatyou need to know about them.
Let's start with the termsyou've probably heard before:
(01:07):
MP3 and WAVE files.
These are words to describe thefile format of your audio
files.
And a file format is the wayinformation is organized and
stored in the file so thatsoftware can read and use it.
The file formats are typicallyidentified by their file
extension.
The extension is the lettersafter the dot in the file name.
(01:29):
For example, if you're using aWAV file, you will see a .wav at
the end.
And if you're using MP3, you'llsee a.mp3.
The important thing to know isthe difference between the two.
MP3 files are compressed, whichmeans they are much smaller
than an uncompressed audio file,while the WAV files are left
(01:51):
uncompressed.
And our recommendation isactually to upload a WAV file
and allow us to optimize thefile in order to compress it to
an MP3 for episode distribution.
If all of that sounds reallytechnical, then I think an
analogy is helpful here.
So I want you to think ofpacking for a surprise trip that
you don't know the destinationfor.
(02:12):
Your MP3 file is like asuitcase.
You know, the one you had tosit on in order to zip it shut.
And a wave file is likebringing your entire dresser
full of clothes for this sametrip.
The compressed MP3 file, oryour suitcase, makes traveling
much more manageable thanbringing your entire dresser.
(02:33):
But because you don't know thedestination, there's a chance
you may not have everything youneed.
Using a WAVE file or bringingyour entire dresser will allow
you to have everything you need,but it's practically impossible
to travel with.
I want you to think aboutBuzzSprout, your podcast host,
as your professional packer.
The reason we recommenduploading a WAVE file is because
(02:56):
you're basically bringing usyour dresser and allowing us to
pull out the best clothing itemsfor your final destination.
Once we've gathered all of thenecessary information, we will
pack all of it neatly into anMP3 file for distribution.
Kind of like packing it allinto a carry-on suitcase.
Since Buzzsprout knows what thedirectories require for your
(03:18):
audio files, let us compressthose audio files for you so
they're easily distributed toyour listeners.
MP3 files are great forpodcasting because you don't
want your listeners having todownload a gigantic audio file
every time they want to hearyour latest episode.
Next up, mono versus stereo.
These may sound much morecomplicated than they actually
(03:38):
are.
Basically, mono means one audiochannel, and stereo means two
audio channels, left and right.
Basically, this is the way thatthe sound from your audio file
is getting delivered to yourlisteners.
When you record a mono file,your microphone captures a
single audio waveform.
That same signal can then beplayed through both the left and
(04:01):
right speakers or headphones atthe same time.
This means your listener hearsthe voice centered between the
two speakers.
Stereo is a little different.
For example, if you're wearingheadphones and listening to a
stereo recording, differentsounds can be sent to your left
and right ears.
This can create a sense ofmovement and space, like in an
(04:22):
audio drama.
You might hear a door openingin one ear followed by footsteps
that move across to the otherear.
That kind of effect is possiblebecause the audio is in stereo.
So why does this matter forpodcasters?
While a stereo file can createa wider, more immersive
listening experience, it alsocreates a larger file.
(04:46):
And you guessed it, largerfiles mean slower download times
and will use up more of yourlisteners' storage.
If you are producing a spokenword podcast with you as a solo
host or maybe with guestinterviews, a mono file works
great.
Again, the goal is to make itreally easy for people to listen
to your podcast.
(05:06):
Save your listener some storagespace and download time by
keeping your files in mono, andyou will be in great shape.
Now that we've covered audiofile types and formats, I want
to focus on some of the termsthat are specific to how your
episodes sound.
This is a term you may or maynot have heard before.
It's the word luffs, LUFS.
(05:28):
And LUFS is a measurement usedto describe perceived loudness.
It stands for loudness unitsrelative to full scale.
It's a measurement of how loudaudio sounds to the human ear
over time, rather than justsimply measuring the highest
peak in your audio file.
So luffs is not measuring howloud is this episode.
(05:51):
Instead, it's trying to measurehow loud the audio sounds to us
as the listener.
This matters because you don'twant your listeners constantly
reaching for the volume button.
Imagine listening to onepodcast where you're turning
your volume all the way up, andthen your next podcast starts
playing automatically andpractically blows your
headphones off.
(06:12):
Not exactly a relaxingexperience.
So, in order to provide thebest listening experience, Apple
actually provided somespecifications that they
recommend for this.
The recommended LUF level isaround negative 16 luffs.
So this is something that youcan update within your editing
software, and it's themeasurement that audio
professionals use to help createa consistent listening
(06:35):
experience.
Just like LUFs, the next twoterms are important when it
comes to editing.
And those terms are gain andvolume.
They both seem like they'rejust making something louder,
right?
Well, sort of.
Gain controls the level ofaudio signal before or as it
enters a system.
So when you are recording, gaindescribes how much you're
(06:56):
amplifying the microphone signalas it enters your computer or
your audio interface.
An example of this is if youare recording into your
microphone and you're hearingall of the ambient noises and
they sound really loud, there'sa chance that the gain is turned
all the way up.
If you reduce that a littlebit, it allows the microphone to
capture the loudest sound andthe closest sound, which is your
(07:19):
voice.
Volume, as most of us know,generally controls how loud the
signal is after it has alreadybeen recorded or processed.
So turning up the car stereowhen listening to your favorite
podcast, that is adjusting thevolume.
This is an easy way to think ofit.
Gain is about how much signalyou're putting into the system,
(07:39):
and volume is about how loudlyyou're playing that signal back
to your listeners.
So if you're recording and yourgain is set way too high,
turning the volume down afterdoesn't necessarily fix the
underlying problem.
And with that, let's do a quickaudio terminology speed round.
An MP3 file is a compressedaudio format commonly used for
(08:01):
podcast distribution.
A WAV file is a larger,uncompressed audio file format.
Mono is a recording with onlyone audio channel, and stereo is
an audio recording with twochannels.
Luffs is a measurement relatedto perceived loudness.
Gain controls the level ofaudio signal going into a
(08:22):
system, and volume controls thelevel of audio going into your
listeners' speakers.
And now you officially knowenough audio terminology to
confidently nod when someonestarts talking about luffs at a
podcast conference.
But there are so many moreaudio terms we could talk about.
So if there's an audio termyou've heard and thought, okay,
(08:42):
but what does that actuallymean?
Send it our way using the SendUs Fan mail link in the show
notes.
I'd love to cover more audioterminology and explain how
everything works.
And this brings us to the finalepisode in our podcasting
terminology series.
We've covered the general termsyou need to know, we've covered
the audio terms, and next timewe are turning the camera on.
(09:05):
We're talking about videopodcasting terminology.
Because if you're making thejump from an audio podcast to a
video podcast, there's a wholenew vocabulary waiting for you.
So join me for next week'sepisode of Podcasting QA, where
we'll make video podcastingterms a little less
intimidating.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
(09:26):
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, brought to you
by the people at BuzzSprout.
I'm your host, Cara Pacetti,and I'm bringing you the best
tips and strategies to keep youpodcasting with confidence.
Last week, we kicked off athree-part series all about
podcasting terminology.
(00:21):
We started with some of thegeneral terms you're likely to
hear as a new podcaster, likeRSS feed, listening directories,
and more.
But today, we're getting alittle more technical.
In my opinion, this is a funepisode.
We're focusing on the terms youwill likely hear when producing
an audio first podcast.
Terms like MP3, WAV, monoversus stereo, and gain versus
(00:46):
volume.
Basically, if you've everlooked at your recording
software and thought, I don'tknow what any of these buttons
mean, and frankly, I'm afraid totouch them, then this episode
is for you.
Let's break down some of themost common audio podcasting
terms and more importantly, whatyou need to know about them.
Let's start with the termsyou've probably heard before:
(01:07):
MP3 and WAVE files.
These are words to describe thefile format of your audio
files.
And a file format is the wayinformation is organized and
stored in the file so thatsoftware can read and use it.
The file formats are typicallyidentified by their file
extension.
The extension is the lettersafter the dot in the file name.
(01:29):
For example, if you're using aWAV file, you will see a .wav at
the end.
And if you're using MP3, you'llsee a.mp3.
The important thing to know isthe difference between the two.
MP3 files are compressed, whichmeans they are much smaller
than an uncompressed audio file,while the WAV files are left
(01:51):
uncompressed.
And our recommendation isactually to upload a WAV file
and allow us to optimize thefile in order to compress it to
an MP3 for episode distribution.
If all of that sounds reallytechnical, then I think an
analogy is helpful here.
So I want you to think ofpacking for a surprise trip that
you don't know the destinationfor.
(02:12):
Your MP3 file is like asuitcase.
You know, the one you had tosit on in order to zip it shut.
And a wave file is likebringing your entire dresser
full of clothes for this sametrip.
The compressed MP3 file, oryour suitcase, makes traveling
much more manageable thanbringing your entire dresser.
(02:33):
But because you don't know thedestination, there's a chance
you may not have everything youneed.
Using a WAVE file or bringingyour entire dresser will allow
you to have everything you need,but it's practically impossible
to travel with.
I want you to think aboutBuzzSprout, your podcast host,
as your professional packer.
The reason we recommenduploading a WAVE file is because
(02:56):
you're basically bringing usyour dresser and allowing us to
pull out the best clothing itemsfor your final destination.
Once we've gathered all of thenecessary information, we will
pack all of it neatly into anMP3 file for distribution.
Kind of like packing it allinto a carry-on suitcase.
Since Buzzsprout knows what thedirectories require for your
(03:18):
audio files, let us compressthose audio files for you so
they're easily distributed toyour listeners.
MP3 files are great forpodcasting because you don't
want your listeners having todownload a gigantic audio file
every time they want to hearyour latest episode.
Next up, mono versus stereo.
These may sound much morecomplicated than they actually
(03:38):
are.
Basically, mono means one audiochannel, and stereo means two
audio channels, left and right.
Basically, this is the way thatthe sound from your audio file
is getting delivered to yourlisteners.
When you record a mono file,your microphone captures a
single audio waveform.
That same signal can then beplayed through both the left and
(04:01):
right speakers or headphones atthe same time.
This means your listener hearsthe voice centered between the
two speakers.
Stereo is a little different.
For example, if you're wearingheadphones and listening to a
stereo recording, differentsounds can be sent to your left
and right ears.
This can create a sense ofmovement and space, like in an
(04:22):
audio drama.
You might hear a door openingin one ear followed by footsteps
that move across to the otherear.
That kind of effect is possiblebecause the audio is in stereo.
So why does this matter forpodcasters?
While a stereo file can createa wider, more immersive
listening experience, it alsocreates a larger file.
(04:46):
And you guessed it, largerfiles mean slower download times
and will use up more of yourlisteners' storage.
If you are producing a spokenword podcast with you as a solo
host or maybe with guestinterviews, a mono file works
great.
Again, the goal is to make itreally easy for people to listen
to your podcast.
(05:06):
Save your listener some storagespace and download time by
keeping your files in mono, andyou will be in great shape.
Now that we've covered audiofile types and formats, I want
to focus on some of the termsthat are specific to how your
episodes sound.
This is a term you may or maynot have heard before.
It's the word luffs, LUFS.
(05:28):
And LUFS is a measurement usedto describe perceived loudness.
It stands for loudness unitsrelative to full scale.
It's a measurement of how loudaudio sounds to the human ear
over time, rather than justsimply measuring the highest
peak in your audio file.
So luffs is not measuring howloud is this episode.
(05:51):
Instead, it's trying to measurehow loud the audio sounds to us
as the listener.
This matters because you don'twant your listeners constantly
reaching for the volume button.
Imagine listening to onepodcast where you're turning
your volume all the way up, andthen your next podcast starts
playing automatically andpractically blows your
headphones off.
(06:12):
Not exactly a relaxingexperience.
So, in order to provide thebest listening experience, Apple
actually provided somespecifications that they
recommend for this.
The recommended LUF level isaround negative 16 luffs.
So this is something that youcan update within your editing
software, and it's themeasurement that audio
professionals use to help createa consistent listening
(06:35):
experience.
Just like LUFs, the next twoterms are important when it
comes to editing.
And those terms are gain andvolume.
They both seem like they'rejust making something louder,
right?
Well, sort of.
Gain controls the level ofaudio signal before or as it
enters a system.
So when you are recording, gaindescribes how much you're
(06:56):
amplifying the microphone signalas it enters your computer or
your audio interface.
An example of this is if youare recording into your
microphone and you're hearingall of the ambient noises and
they sound really loud, there'sa chance that the gain is turned
all the way up.
If you reduce that a littlebit, it allows the microphone to
capture the loudest sound andthe closest sound, which is your
(07:19):
voice.
Volume, as most of us know,generally controls how loud the
signal is after it has alreadybeen recorded or processed.
So turning up the car stereowhen listening to your favorite
podcast, that is adjusting thevolume.
This is an easy way to think ofit.
Gain is about how much signalyou're putting into the system,
(07:39):
and volume is about how loudlyyou're playing that signal back
to your listeners.
So if you're recording and yourgain is set way too high,
turning the volume down afterdoesn't necessarily fix the
underlying problem.
And with that, let's do a quickaudio terminology speed round.
An MP3 file is a compressedaudio format commonly used for
(08:01):
podcast distribution.
A WAV file is a larger,uncompressed audio file format.
Mono is a recording with onlyone audio channel, and stereo is
an audio recording with twochannels.
Luffs is a measurement relatedto perceived loudness.
Gain controls the level ofaudio signal going into a
(08:22):
system, and volume controls thelevel of audio going into your
listeners' speakers.
And now you officially knowenough audio terminology to
confidently nod when someonestarts talking about luffs at a
podcast conference.
But there are so many moreaudio terms we could talk about.
So if there's an audio termyou've heard and thought, okay,
(08:42):
but what does that actuallymean?
Send it our way using the SendUs Fan mail link in the show
notes.
I'd love to cover more audioterminology and explain how
everything works.
And this brings us to the finalepisode in our podcasting
terminology series.
We've covered the general termsyou need to know, we've covered
the audio terms, and next timewe are turning the camera on.
(09:05):
We're talking about videopodcasting terminology.
Because if you're making thejump from an audio podcast to a
video podcast, there's a wholenew vocabulary waiting for you.
So join me for next week'sepisode of Podcasting QA, where
we'll make video podcastingterms a little less
intimidating.
Be sure to join us every Mondayto kickstart your week.
(09:26):
Thank you so much forlistening.
And as always, keep podcasting.
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