Changing the in & out points of MP3 files

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Level 1

61 points

Changing the in & out points of MP3 files

Hi all.

Back when I used iTunes, I used to do this with MP3s on a regular basis.

(If, for example, the MP3 was one of those things that bands in the 90s were obsessed with & had a hidden track after minutes of silence, I'd duplicate the MP3, change the "out" point of the first one to the end of the track & then change the "in" point of the second to the beginning of the "hidden" track, so that they would play back as two separate tracks but without the silence.)

This worked well within iTunes, but I'm wondering if anyone knows a way to do a similar thing with the MP3 & have that info saved into the MP3 file itself, so that other software recognises the new IN & OUT points?

Obviously, I can trim them in Audacity or similar, but I'm worried about cascade compression or some other thing that might degrade the MP3s in some way by re-saving them.

Thanks.

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Jun 27, 2025 02:44 AM

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Answer 1

ed2345

Level 9

63,416 points

Jun 27, 2025 05:44 AM in response to del.frost

Del,

You are right, the "Start" and "Stop" times that you can set on the Options tab do not carry over to another player. You have to make new trimmed versions, which you can do with Audacity or Music.

If you are worried about loss of fidelity in the trimmed versions, save with a nice high bitrate. MP3/320 is probably good enough. Try it. But if you want to be extra sure, use a lossless format such as ALAC, AIFF, or WAV. The lossless format will give you exactly the same quality as the MP3 you started with (whatever it may have been).

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Answer 2

del.frost Author

Level 1

61 points

Jun 28, 2025 05:40 AM in response to del.frost

Thanks, I thought as much.

If I were to trim & re-save in a lossless format such as FLAC or AIFF, then I would do my usual thing of stating (FLAC from MP3) at the end of the containing folder name, as a memory-jogger, so that it was clear to me that this is not a genuinely lossless file, but it's do-able.

Thanks.

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Answer 3

ed2345

Level 9

63,416 points

Jun 28, 2025 06:20 AM in response to del.frost

Del,

Yes, good idea (but please use ALAC instead of FLAC, or else they will not go into your Music library).

I also suggest to try saving a few with MP3/320 to see if you actually can detect any audio degradation. If it is not noticeable, you can save the space of storing those lossless-not-actually-lossless files.

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Answer 4

del.frost Author

Level 1

61 points

Jun 29, 2025 02:17 AM in response to ed2345

Oh, I no longer use any Apple products for my music storage or management, I just know that when I used to use iTunes, there was the ability to set in & out points & wondered if it were possible to do it within the files themselves. That's a good shout, though, trying out a high bit-rate MP3 as a space saver. Thanks.

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Answer 5

ed2345

Level 9

63,416 points

Jun 29, 2025 04:57 PM in response to del.frost

Del,

You are welcome. Enjoy the music!

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