diff --git a/lhotse/audio/recording.py b/lhotse/audio/recording.py
index ec0f605f2..cd8a41fb2 100644
--- a/lhotse/audio/recording.py
+++ b/lhotse/audio/recording.py
@@ -168,6 +168,23 @@ def is_placeholder(self) -> bool:
     def num_channels(self) -> int:
         return len(self.channel_ids)
 
+    @property
+    def source_format(self) -> str:
+        """Infer format of the audio sources.
+        If all sources have the same format, return it.
+        If sources have different formats, raise an error.
+        """
+        source_formats = list(set([s.format for s in self.sources]))
+
+        if len(source_formats) == 1:
+            # if all sources have the same format, return it
+            return source_formats[0]
+        else:
+            # at the moment, we don't resolve different formats
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                "Sources have different formats. Resolving to a single format not implemented."
+            )
+
     @staticmethod
     def from_file(
         path: Pathlike,
diff --git a/lhotse/audio/source.py b/lhotse/audio/source.py
index 459881ea2..88bb9743d 100644
--- a/lhotse/audio/source.py
+++ b/lhotse/audio/source.py
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import io
+import os
 import warnings
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from io import BytesIO, FileIO
@@ -6,6 +8,7 @@
 from typing import List, Optional, Tuple, Union
 
 import numpy as np
+import soundfile as sf
 import torch
 
 from lhotse.audio.backend import read_audio
@@ -64,6 +67,10 @@ class AudioSource:
     def has_video(self) -> bool:
         return self.video is not None
 
+    @property
+    def format(self) -> str:
+        return self._get_format()
+
     def load_audio(
         self,
         offset: Seconds = 0.0,
@@ -316,3 +323,24 @@ def _prepare_for_reading(
             )
 
         return source
+
+    def _get_format(self) -> str:
+        """Get format for the audio source.
+        If using 'file' or 'url' types, the format is inferred from the file extension, as in soundfile.
+        If using 'memory' type, the format is inferred from the binary data.
+        """
+        if self.type in ("file", "url"):
+            # Resolve audio format based on the filename
+            format = os.path.splitext(self.source)[-1][1:]
+            return format.lower()
+        elif self.type == "memory":
+            sf_info = sf.info(io.BytesIO(self.source))
+            if sf_info.format == "OGG" and sf_info.subtype == "OPUS":
+                # soundfile describes opus as ogg container with opus coding
+                return "opus"
+            else:
+                return sf_info.format.lower()
+        else:
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                f"Getting format not implemented for source type {self.type}"
+            )
diff --git a/lhotse/bin/modes/shar.py b/lhotse/bin/modes/shar.py
index 95b670529..cffdf596b 100644
--- a/lhotse/bin/modes/shar.py
+++ b/lhotse/bin/modes/shar.py
@@ -27,8 +27,8 @@ def shar():
     "-a",
     "--audio",
     default="none",
-    type=click.Choice(["none", "wav", "flac", "mp3", "opus"]),
-    help="Format in which to export audio (disabled by default, enabling will make a copy of the data)",
+    type=click.Choice(["none", "wav", "flac", "mp3", "opus", "original"]),
+    help="Format in which to export audio. Original will save in the same format as the original audio (disabled by default, enabling will make a copy of the data)",
 )
 @click.option(
     "-f",
diff --git a/lhotse/shar/writers/audio.py b/lhotse/shar/writers/audio.py
index b3a855f59..22bdf4cf1 100644
--- a/lhotse/shar/writers/audio.py
+++ b/lhotse/shar/writers/audio.py
@@ -66,6 +66,14 @@ def close(self):
     def output_paths(self) -> List[str]:
         return self.tar_writer.output_paths
 
+    def resolve_format(self, original_format: str):
+        if self.format == "original":
+            # save using the original format of the input audio
+            return original_format
+        else:
+            # save using the format specified at initialization
+            return self.format
+
     def write_placeholder(self, key: str) -> None:
         self.tar_writer.write(f"{key}.nodata", BytesIO())
         self.tar_writer.write(f"{key}.nometa", BytesIO(), count=False)
@@ -76,15 +84,18 @@ def write(
         value: np.ndarray,
         sampling_rate: int,
         manifest: Recording,
+        original_format: Optional[str] = None,
     ) -> None:
+        save_format = self.resolve_format(original_format)
+
         value, manifest, sampling_rate = self._maybe_resample(
-            value, manifest, sampling_rate
+            value, manifest, sampling_rate, format=save_format
         )
 
         # Write binary data
         stream = BytesIO()
         save_audio(
-            dest=stream, src=value, sampling_rate=sampling_rate, format=self.format
+            dest=stream, src=value, sampling_rate=sampling_rate, format=save_format
         )
         self.tar_writer.write(f"{key}.{self.format}", stream)
 
@@ -103,13 +114,14 @@ def _maybe_resample(
         audio: Union[torch.Tensor, np.ndarray],
         manifest: Recording,
         sampling_rate: int,
+        format: str,
     ) -> Tuple[Union[np.ndarray, torch.Tensor], Recording, int]:
         # Resampling is required for some versions of OPUS encoders.
         # First resample the manifest which only adjusts the metadata;
         # then resample the audio array to 48kHz.
         OPUS_DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE = 48000
         if (
-            self.format == "opus"
+            format == "opus"
             and is_torchaudio_available()
             and not isinstance(get_current_audio_backend(), LibsndfileBackend)
             and sampling_rate != OPUS_DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE
diff --git a/lhotse/shar/writers/shar.py b/lhotse/shar/writers/shar.py
index 229a073b6..2c1a88442 100644
--- a/lhotse/shar/writers/shar.py
+++ b/lhotse/shar/writers/shar.py
@@ -135,7 +135,11 @@ def write(self, cut: Cut) -> None:
                     recording.sources[0].channels = cut_channels
                     recording.channel_ids = cut_channels
                 self.writers["recording"].write(
-                    cut.id, data, cut.sampling_rate, manifest=recording
+                    cut.id,
+                    data,
+                    cut.sampling_rate,
+                    manifest=recording,
+                    original_format=cut.recording.source_format,
                 )
                 cut = fastcopy(cut, recording=recording)
             else:
@@ -224,6 +228,7 @@ def resolve_writer(name: str) -> Tuple[FieldWriter, str]:
         "flac": (partial(AudioTarWriter, format="flac"), ".tar"),
         "mp3": (partial(AudioTarWriter, format="mp3"), ".tar"),
         "opus": (partial(AudioTarWriter, format="opus"), ".tar"),
+        "original": (partial(AudioTarWriter, format="original"), ".tar"),
         "lilcom": (partial(ArrayTarWriter, compression="lilcom"), ".tar"),
         "numpy": (partial(ArrayTarWriter, compression="numpy"), ".tar"),
         "jsonl": (JsonlShardWriter, ".jsonl.gz"),
diff --git a/lhotse/testing/dummies.py b/lhotse/testing/dummies.py
index aec6a7581..0999906aa 100644
--- a/lhotse/testing/dummies.py
+++ b/lhotse/testing/dummies.py
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ def dummy_recording(
     duration: float = 1.0,
     sampling_rate: int = 16000,
     with_data: bool = False,
+    source_format: str = "wav",
 ) -> Recording:
     num_samples = compute_num_samples(duration, sampling_rate)
     return Recording(
@@ -72,6 +73,7 @@ def dummy_recording(
                 sampling_rate=sampling_rate,
                 num_samples=num_samples,
                 with_data=with_data,
+                format=source_format,
             )
         ],
         sampling_rate=sampling_rate,
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@ def dummy_audio_source(
     sampling_rate: int = 16000,
     channels: Optional[List[int]] = None,
     with_data: bool = False,
+    format: str = "wav",
 ) -> AudioSource:
     if channels is None:
         channels = [0]
@@ -95,21 +98,40 @@ def dummy_audio_source(
     else:
         import soundfile
 
-        # 1kHz sine wave
-        data = torch.sin(2 * np.pi * 1000 * torch.arange(num_samples))
+        # generate 1kHz sine wave
+        f_sine = 1000
+        assert (
+            f_sine < sampling_rate / 2
+        ), f"Sine wave frequency {f_sine} exceeds Nyquist frequency {sampling_rate/2} for sampling rate {sampling_rate}"
+        data = torch.sin(2 * np.pi * f_sine / sampling_rate * torch.arange(num_samples))
+
+        # prepare multichannel data
         if len(channels) > 1:
             data = data.unsqueeze(0).expand(len(channels), -1).transpose(0, 1)
             # ensure each channel has different data for channel selection testing
             mults = torch.tensor([1 / idx for idx in range(1, len(channels) + 1)])
             data = data * mults
+
+        # prepare source with the selected format
         binary_data = BytesIO()
-        soundfile.write(
-            binary_data,
-            data.numpy(),
-            sampling_rate,
-            format="wav",
-            closefd=False,
-        )
+        if format == "opus":
+            # workaround for OPUS: soundfile supports OPUS as a subtype of OGG format
+            soundfile.write(
+                binary_data,
+                data.numpy(),
+                sampling_rate,
+                format="OGG",
+                subtype="OPUS",
+                closefd=False,
+            )
+        else:
+            soundfile.write(
+                binary_data,
+                data.numpy(),
+                sampling_rate,
+                format=format,
+                closefd=False,
+            )
         binary_data.seek(0)
         return AudioSource(
             type="memory", channels=channels, source=binary_data.getvalue()
diff --git a/test/shar/test_write.py b/test/shar/test_write.py
index cee35de1c..7d88bd3d0 100644
--- a/test/shar/test_write.py
+++ b/test/shar/test_write.py
@@ -66,55 +66,6 @@ def test_tar_writer_pipe(tmp_path: Path):
         assert f2.read() == b"test"
 
 
-@pytest.mark.parametrize(
-    "format",
-    [
-        "wav",
-        pytest.param(
-            "flac",
-            marks=pytest.mark.skipif(
-                not check_torchaudio_version_gt("0.12.1"),
-                reason="Torchaudio v0.12.1 or greater is required.",
-            ),
-        ),
-        # "mp3",  # apparently doesn't work in CI, mp3 encoder is missing
-        pytest.param(
-            "opus",
-            marks=pytest.mark.skipif(
-                not check_torchaudio_version_gt("2.1.0"),
-                reason="Torchaudio v2.1.0 or greater is required.",
-            ),
-        ),
-    ],
-)
-def test_audio_tar_writer(tmp_path: Path, format: str):
-    from lhotse.testing.dummies import dummy_recording
-
-    recording = dummy_recording(0, with_data=True)
-    audio = recording.load_audio()
-
-    with AudioTarWriter(
-        str(tmp_path / "test.tar"), shard_size=None, format=format
-    ) as writer:
-        writer.write(
-            key="my-recording",
-            value=audio,
-            sampling_rate=recording.sampling_rate,
-            manifest=recording,
-        )
-
-    (path,) = writer.output_paths
-
-    ((deserialized_recording, inner_path),) = list(TarIterator(path))
-
-    deserialized_audio = deserialized_recording.resample(
-        recording.sampling_rate
-    ).load_audio()
-
-    rmse = np.sqrt(np.mean((audio - deserialized_audio) ** 2))
-    assert rmse < 0.5
-
-
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     ["format", "backend"],
     [
@@ -175,6 +126,59 @@ def test_audio_tar_writer(tmp_path: Path, format: str, backend: str):
     assert rmse < 0.5
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ["original_format", "rmse_threshold"],
+    [("wav", 0.0), ("flac", 0.0), ("mp3", 0.003), ("opus", 0.3)],
+)
+def test_audio_tar_writer_original_format(
+    tmp_path: Path, original_format: str, rmse_threshold: float
+):
+    """Test using AudioTarWritter to write the audio signal in the exact same format
+    as it was loaded from the source.
+    """
+    from lhotse.testing.dummies import dummy_recording
+
+    backend = "default"  # use the default backend for reading the audio
+    writer_format = "original"  # write the audio in the same format as it was loaded
+
+    recording = dummy_recording(0, with_data=True, source_format=original_format)
+    audio = recording.load_audio()
+
+    assert (
+        recording.source_format == original_format
+    ), f"Recording source format ({recording.source_format}) not matching the expected original format ({original_format})"
+
+    with audio_backend(backend):
+        with AudioTarWriter(
+            str(tmp_path / "test.tar"), shard_size=None, format=writer_format
+        ) as writer:
+            writer.write(
+                key="my-recording",
+                value=audio,
+                sampling_rate=recording.sampling_rate,
+                manifest=recording,
+                original_format=recording.source_format,
+            )
+        (path,) = writer.output_paths
+        ((deserialized_recording, inner_path),) = list(TarIterator(path))
+
+        # make sure the deserialized audio is in the same format as the original
+        assert (
+            deserialized_recording.source_format == original_format
+        ), f"Deserialized recording source format ({deserialized_recording.source_format}) not matching the expected original format ({original_format})"
+
+        # load audio
+        deserialized_audio = deserialized_recording.resample(
+            recording.sampling_rate
+        ).load_audio()
+
+    # check difference between original and deserialized audio
+    rmse = np.sqrt(np.mean((audio - deserialized_audio) ** 2))
+    assert (
+        rmse <= rmse_threshold
+    ), f"RMSE between original and deserialized audio is {rmse}, which is above the threshold of {rmse_threshold}"
+
+
 def test_shar_writer(tmp_path: Path):
     # Prepare data
     cuts = DummyManifest(CutSet, begin_id=0, end_id=20, with_data=True)