Which file type is known for its high compression and good quality in audio?

The MP3 file type is widely recognized for its ability to achieve high compression while maintaining a reasonable audio quality, making it a popular choice for music and audio streaming. This format uses lossy compression, which means it reduces file sizes by eliminating some audio data, especially sounds that are less audible to human ears. The result is a significant decrease in file size, which is particularly beneficial for storage and bandwidth. This combination of efficient compression and acceptable quality allows for widespread use in portable media players, smartphones, and online music services.

In contrast, other formats such as WAV offer high audio fidelity but are larger in file size due to their uncompressed nature, and FLAC provides lossless compression, which results in higher quality at the cost of less efficient storage. AAC, while also effective in compression and often considered superior to MP3 in certain contexts, is not as universally recognized as MP3 for high compression with good quality.