SHNs

SHNs, short for Shorten, refers to a lossless audio compression format used primarily in the 1990s and early 2000s. Files associated with this format typically carry the .shn extension and are designed to store CD-quality audio in a compressed form that can be perfectly reconstructed.

Origins and use

Shorten was developed to reduce disk space and facilitate distribution of audio over networks with limited bandwidth, including Usenet and early file-sharing communities. The format found particular use among music collectors and archivists for distributing live recordings. Metadata such as track titles could be stored, but support for rich metadata varied and lagged behind more modern formats.

Technical notes

SHN provides lossless compression, meaning the original audio waveform is recoverable without any loss of information. The exact compression ratio depends on the content being encoded. Decoding requires a SHN-compatible decoder, and encoding was typically done with dedicated tools. While effective for its time, SHN did not achieve the broad, ongoing ecosystem seen with later formats.

Decline and legacy

With the emergence and rapid growth of newer lossless formats such as FLAC and WavPack, SHN usage declined. Many modern players do not include native SHN support, though legacy decoders and plugins remain available. SHN files can often be converted to WAV or FLAC for continued playback or archival purposes.

See also

FLAC, Monkey's Audio, WAV, lossless audio formats.