Converting WAV to MP3 applies MPEG-1 Audio Layer III lossy compression to uncompressed PCM audio, reducing file size by 60-90% while retaining perceptual audio quality suitable for streaming and distribution. WAV stores raw PCM samples at full bit depth, resulting in large files (around 10 MB per minute at CD quality); MP3 removes audio frequencies that the human auditory system is least sensitive to, based on psychoacoustic modelling. The output bitrate controls the quality-size trade-off: 128 kbps is standard for voice content, 192 kbps suits general music distribution, and 320 kbps is the maximum MP3 bitrate offering near-transparent quality for critical listening. ID3v2 metadata tags (title, artist, album, track number) from the WAV file are written to the MP3 output where present. 1converter encodes WAV to MP3 using the LAME encoder via FFmpeg, which is the reference implementation for high-quality MP3 encoding.