The list of audio file formats that Ardour can import/embed is quite long. It is based on the functionality offered by libsndfile, an excellent and widely used software library by Australian programmer Erik de Castro Lopo. As libsndfile's capabilities expand, so will Ardour's abilities to import (and export) new formats. Ogg/Vorbis (an excellent, unpatented and license free audio compression format similar to MP3) is planned for the near future. Currently, supported formats include:
Microsoft WAV
SGI/Apple AIFF/AIFC
Sun AU/Snd
Raw (headerless)
Paris Audio File (PAF)
Commodore IFF/SVX
Sphere/NIST WAV
IRCAM SF
Creative VOC
SoundForge W64
GNU Octave MAT4.4
Portable Voice Format
Fasttracker 2 XI
HMM Tool Kit HTK
Sample encodings supported include:
Unsigned and signed 8, 16, 24 and 32 bit PCM
IEEE 32 and 64 floating point
U-LAW
A-LAW
IMA ADPCM
MS ADPCM
GSM 6.10
G721/723 ADPCM
12/16/24 bit DWVW
OK Dialogic ADPCM
8/16 DPCM