MP3 file help please!?

When i add files in MP3 format (ones that i've downloaded) to my MP3 player, they seem to take up less room than songs i've ripped from CDs using Windows Media. Is there anyway that i can turn those Windows Media ones into MP3 format in order to get more on my MP3 player? Sorry, i hope this makes sense. Thanks.

MP3 file help please!?
You can get software to do this (see the excellent answer from the other guy above). However be aware that file size has everything to do with bitrate (or compression ratio if you like). The more compressed the music file, the smaller it will be but the worse the quality is.





Also the convertor software wont be able to make any music better than the source file. that means if you have a MP3 at 128 Bit rate, converting it to CDA wont mean it is back at CD quality, it just means a CD will be able to read the file. I hope that makes sense. Just make sure you understand the trade off you make when you compress music (in any format).





cheers
Reply:dbPowerAmb music converter used to be free, but from version 10 became shareware.





I have since converted to using Razorlame. It's not quite as easy to use, but it does the job.
Reply:Yes this makes perfect sense and the solution is very simple and you don't need complicated software to get MP3 format. In fact you can use Window media player, all you have to do is open WMP click on tools then options then rip music and finaly under rip settings just switch windows media audio to mp3. hit apply then ok and when you instert a CD next time and rip the music tracks will all be in MP3 format Enjoy!.
Reply:I use a program called CDEX. You can use it to convert WMA files to an uncompressed file and then to an MP3. It takes about 20 seconds each way on my computer.
Reply:I use a useful bit of software called DB PowerAmp to convert between all the different file types - WMA to MP3 to OGG to WAV.





Just google search it - it's free - just make sure you download the codecs package as well -





If you have trouble finding it - email me and I'll send it over
Reply:You are probably either ripping them at a higher audio quality or in a format that takes up more room or you may be comparing longer songs. Go to the options menu and the "Rip Music" settings. Check both the format and the audio quality. You can also choose between MP3 format or various WMA formats. WMA takes up less space at the same bitrate as MP3 but not all MP3 players support WMA. You can also reduce the audio quality so they take up less space.





I'm sure there is a way to convert your old files into smaller ones but if you still have the CD handy it's probably easier just to rip it again.