Traklist keeps your original file and prepares audio for listening. For supported lossless recordings handled by the new audio system, the listening copy preserves the audio information in your upload.

The new system is in a limited rollout. This guide applies to completed uploads handled by that system, including supported Dropbox imports. Older uploads can behave differently.

What happens to your audio

Listening uses audio prepared for playback, or your original when it can be used directly. Downloading a completed track gives you the exact original file you uploaded, when downloads are allowed.

For example, upload a supported 24-bit WAV and Traklist keeps that WAV while making a FLAC copy for listening. FLAC stores the same audio information in a smaller file without discarding it. Downloading gives you the original WAV.

What lossless means

Lossless means keeping the audio information you started with. It does not make every recording higher quality.

• WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and Apple Lossless can preserve the original audio information when they use a supported encoding.

• MP3, AAC, Vorbis, Opus, and AC3 are lossy. They have already discarded some information to reduce file size.

Traklist preserves supported lossy uploads at their existing quality. Converting an MP3 to WAV cannot recover detail removed before the upload.

Supported formats

The audio inside a file matters as well as its extension. These are the formats covered by the current processing rules:

• WAV with 16-bit or 24-bit PCM: uses a lossless FLAC listening copy.

• WAV with 32-bit integer or 32-bit float audio: uses a WAV listening copy that preserves its precision.

• AIFF or AIF with 16-bit or 24-bit PCM: uses a lossless FLAC listening copy.

• AIFF-C with supported 16-bit PCM or 32-bit float audio: uses FLAC or WAV, depending on the encoding. Other AIFF-C encodings are outside this coverage.

• FLAC with 16-bit or 24-bit audio: uses the uploaded audio. Supported FLAC inside Ogg is also included.

• Apple Lossless (ALAC) in M4A, 16-bit or 24-bit: uses a lossless FLAC listening copy. The original M4A remains the download.

• MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, and Ogg Opus: play at their uploaded quality and remain lossy.

• AC3: uses a WAV listening copy. The source remains lossy.

Is M4A lossless?

M4A is a container. It can hold lossless ALAC or lossy AAC. The .m4a ending alone does not tell you which you have.

Sample rates and channels

Supported lossless encodings keep their sample rate and precision. The processing rules accept standard sample rates from 8 to 192 kHz, but playback depends on the file and your device. Mono and stereo are covered. Selected 5.1 layouts are accepted for 24-bit PCM WAV and AC3; that does not guarantee surround output on every device.

The 64-bit float WAV exception

A 64-bit float WAV can finish processing and remain available as an original download, but its listening copy currently does not play in Chrome. Traklist does not automatically reduce it to 32-bit audio.

Keep your 64-bit original as your master. If you need a playable listening version, export a separate 24-bit PCM or 32-bit WAV from your recording software and upload it separately. Reducing bit depth changes that copy's precision.

File size and track length

The general per-file upload ceiling is 5 GB. Audio handled by the new system currently has smaller processing limits:

• Original file: up to 1 GiB, approximately 1.07 GB.

• Expanded audio: up to 1 GiB after it is unpacked for processing.

• Listening copy: up to 1 GiB.

These limits also apply to supported lossy files. A small compressed MP3 or FLAC can exceed the expanded-audio limit when it is long enough.

There is no single maximum track length for every format. Duration, sample rate, precision, and channel count all affect the space needed. Files over the processing limits are refused; their audio quality is not quietly reduced to make them fit.

Playback, downloads, and sharing

File preservation and playback are separate. A file can be preserved correctly while a particular browser cannot play it. Support varies by encoding, browser, and device, so an accepted upload is not a promise that it will play everywhere.

A completed original stays in its uploaded format when downloaded. A WAV stays a WAV, an AIFF stays an AIFF, and an M4A stays an M4A. Share-link visitors can download when the sender enables downloads. Lossless processing does not change those permissions.

Your device, output settings, connection, and headphones also affect what you hear. Preserving the listening copy does not guarantee an unchanged signal all the way to your headphones. Bluetooth can compress audio again.

Processing and storage

First, your file transfers to Traklist. Then Traklist checks the audio and prepares playback and information such as the waveform. Finishing the transfer does not always mean the track is ready to play.

For completed uploads handled by the new system, storage is based on the original file's size. The listening copy does not use your allowance a second time. Files that fail through this system do not count against the allowance, although a failed row can remain listed.

Useful tips

• Keep a local copy of your original recording or export.

• For a lossless listening version, use a supported 16-bit or 24-bit PCM WAV, AIFF, or FLAC. Keep the original sample rate unless you have a reason to change it.

• Use a reliable connection for large uploads and high-resolution listening.

• When asking for help, include the file name, approximate upload time, format, size, device, browser, and error message.

Troubleshooting

My file stays on processing

Reload once and check the folder before uploading again. If the file is still unavailable, contact support with its name and upload time. Repeated uploads can create more copies without solving the cause.

My upload failed

Check that the file opens in your recording software and fits the format and size limits above. If it is damaged or incomplete, make a fresh export. An unfamiliar encoding inside a WAV or AIFF can fail even though the extension looks supported.

My upload finished but will not play

Check for the 64-bit float WAV exception. When downloads are allowed, download the original and open it in compatible audio software. Report the file and device so playback can be checked separately from the stored original.

The download option is missing

Check your download permission. On a share link, ask the sender whether downloads are enabled.

Important to know

This rollout does not automatically rebuild older uploads, recover missing originals, or restore detail removed by earlier processing. It also does not promise to refresh audio you previously saved for Offline on iPhone.

WMA, CAF, WavPack, MP2, Dolby Atmos, and ADM playback are outside this release's support claims. Renaming an extension does not convert the audio inside.