MAUD to SPX Converter

MAUD is an audio file format developed by MacroSystem for the Commodore Amiga platform, introduced in the early 1990s as part of their digital video and audio production tools. Built on the Amiga IFF (Interchange File Format) chunk architecture, MAUD files organize data into clearly delineated chunks — MHDR for the header, MDAT for sample data, and optional annotation chunks for metadata. The format supports mono and stereo layouts with bit depths of 8 or 16 bits and sample rates up to 48 kHz, which represented professional-grade specifications on Amiga hardware. Both signed linear PCM and A-law/mu-law encodings are available, offering a choice between fidelity and file size. MAUD saw primary use in the Amiga video production community, where MacroSystem Retina and VLab Motion boards demanded synchronized audio that the standard 8SVX format could not deliver. Conversion support exists today through SoX and libsndfile, ensuring vintage Amiga productions remain recoverable. Three distinct advantages stand out: clean IFF-based structure that any chunk-aware parser can navigate, 16-bit stereo capability ahead of typical Amiga audio, and lightweight overhead that left maximum CPU headroom for video rendering.

Speex is an open-source audio codec purpose-built for speech compression, developed by Jean-Marc Valin under the Xiph.Org Foundation. First released in October 2002, it targets voice-over-IP, conferencing, and any scenario where spoken word needs to travel efficiently over a network. SPX files wrap Speex-encoded audio inside an Ogg container, pairing the codec's speech optimization with Ogg's streaming capabilities. Three sampling rates are supported — narrowband at 8 kHz, wideband at 16 kHz, and ultra-wideband at 32 kHz — along with variable bitrate encoding that adapts in real time to speech complexity. A standout advantage is its patent-free, BSD-licensed nature, which allowed developers to embed it freely in both commercial and open-source products. Speex also bundles acoustic echo cancellation, noise suppression, and automatic gain control, features that rival codecs typically delegate to external libraries. Although its creators officially recommend Opus) as a successor since 2012, Speex remains deployed in legacy VoIP systems, archived recordings, and embedded devices where its lightweight decoder footprint is still valued.