An SPX file is a Speex audio file saved within an Ogg Vorbis container. Speex is an open source patent-free audio format designed for speech compression. It supports variable bitrate (VBR) encoding and several features not found in other audio codecs. Some examples include embedded encoding, intensity stereo encoding, and voice activity detection.

This format was originally intended for voice compression and is able to change the bit rates of encoded audio data. AMR is actively used for encoding and decoding voice while its being transmitted over network channels. The format allows one to consider network capacity and adapt it to channel loads. Due to this, the voice quality is practically undiminished.