What are SHNs?
Shorten (extension .shn) is an audio compression scheme written by Tony Robinson of SoftSound that can compact wav files without subtracting out any frequencies. It’s “lossless”- everything in the original wav is there, so that full quality is maintained. For many traders of live music, Shorten files (shns) therefore have an undisputed advantage over “lossy” mp3-format files. A shn file made from a wav is quite a bit larger than the corresponding mp3, with a size perhaps ~50-70% of the orginal wav. Although many people just download shns, keep in mind that these files can also be traded through the mail on disc very easily. The overview below focuses on working with shn files that are already created by others. Once you are familiar with that side of things, it will become obvious how to create shns sets on your own. Ethical note: For historical reasons, much of the music available in Shorten format is of trade-friendly bands.
Shorten (extension .shn) is an audio compression scheme that can compact wav files without subtracting out any frequencies. It’s “lossless”- everything in the original wav is there, so that full quality is maintained. For many traders of live music, Shorten files (shns) therefore have an undisputed advantage over “lossy” mp3-format files. A shn file made from a wav is quite a bit larger than the corresponding mp3, with a size perhaps ~50-70% of the original wav.
Shorten (extension .shn) is an audio compression scheme written by Tony Robinson of SoftSound that can compact wav files without subtracting out any frequencies. It’s a “lossless” file format – everything in the original wav is there, so the full quality is maintained. Many live music traders prefer Shorten files (shns) as they have an undisputed advantage over “lossy” mp3-format files. A shn file made from a wav is quite a bit larger than the corresponding mp3, with a size ranging from 50-70% of the original wav. Although many just download shns, keep in mind that these files can also be traded through the mail on disc very easily (B&P).
