APE (Monkey's Audio)
APE is a lossless audio compression format that achieves higher compression ratios than FLAC but requires more CPU for encoding and decoding. It is popular in Asian audiophile communities and some music archiving circles.
MIME Type
audio/x-ape
Type
Binary
Compression
Lossless
Advantages
- + Higher compression ratio than FLAC (typically 5-10% smaller)
- + Bit-perfect lossless audio preservation
- + Supported by foobar2000 and many Asian audio players
Disadvantages
- − Slow decoding speed — not suitable for portable devices
- − Limited cross-platform support compared to FLAC
- − Proprietary format with restricted open-source tooling
When to Use .APE
Use APE only for archival when maximum lossless compression is needed and decoding speed is not a concern; prefer FLAC for general use.
Technical Details
APE uses a proprietary predictive coding algorithm with Rice coding for the residual. Compression levels range from Fast to Insane, with higher levels providing better ratios at the cost of decoding speed.
History
Matthew T. Ashland created Monkey's Audio in 2000. The format gained a niche following among audiophiles who prioritize maximum compression over encoding speed.