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Sound Designer II: This format was originally introduced as the native file type of the veteran Macintosh-based Digidesign audio editing program of the same name. Originally, the output consisted of two linked mono files, but there is now a single stereo file version as well. You might want to export in this format if you are working with Pro Tools users on the Mac, or those aficionados still using Sound Designer!

AIFF: This is Apple’s full-bandwidth PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) file format that maintains the full audio quality of the bounce. AIFF files can have a maximum size of 2GB, which equates to stereo files of about three hours and 15 minutes at 16-bit, 44.1kHz resolution.

WAV: WAV files are, effectively, the Windows version of AIFF. These days, Macs are perfectly happy with WAV files, but Windows programs cannot always use AIFF, so if you expect your files to end up on a PC, WAV format is preferable. Sonically, there’s no difference between WAV and AIFF. Logic generates Broadcast Wave Files (BWF), so the maximum WAV file is 4GB (about six hours and 30 minutes at the CD standard bit and sample rates).

CAF: To address the limitations of AIFF and WAV files, CAF (Core Audio Format) has been introduced, and can cope with durations of up to 13 hours and 30 minutes at 44.1kHz. While bit depth and format (stereo, mono or surround) do not affect recording time, sample rate does, and the recording time is reduced to about three hours at 192kHz.

MP3 and AAC: Both of these formats use ‘perceptual encoding’ to trim down file sizes. You can select a bit rate (the higher the rate, the higher the quality, but the larger the files generated) or use variable bit rates, which change depending on the harmonic content of the audio, with lower rates during simple passages and higher rates for more harmonically complex ones.