The ratio between the original bit rate and compressed bit rate is the compression factor. Compression can, therefore, be termed as bit rate reduction. Compression also may reduce the size and weight of recorder, as well as relax the mechanical tolerance of audio devices. In cinema, audio compression maximizes the number of audio channels. Consumer devices such as games, portable digital devices, and music players also have audio compression technology. Further, these devices access the internet and may play or use internet content. The sheer numbers involve necessitate the use of audio compression in the storage and archiving of this online content.

Implementing audio compression requires a good understanding of the human ear. Only a certain portion of sound is useful to the ear. This is the perceptual entropy. All other sound is redundant. The ear distinguishes certain critical frequency bands. The result is an effective Q. factor responsible for auditory masking. A detailed modeling of how masking occurs in the ear is essential to the design of audio compressors. It is vital not to exceed the masking threshold so that compression is not audible.

If compression is unnecessary, do not use it. This is because compressed data is more prone to transmission error than non-compressed data. This is because compressed data may not contain redundancy which is necessary to reconstruct lost data (Gonzalez et al. 128). If compression is necessary, the compression factor should be low. This means that the compressed data is as similar to the original data as possible....

Further, do not cascade compression systems since this causes a loss in quality as bit rates get lower.
Audio compressors have progressed from analog devices to digital codes that run on computers to process audio signals. Whether we apply them to normalize an audio signal, or to compress acoustic information, audio compressors are as necessary now as they were in the early 20th century. The digital nature of most information means that there are standards that provide a guideline for audio compression.

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Naeem, Adel Nadhem, and Sureswaran Ramadass. "A Review on Audio Sampling Rates

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