The manipulation of audio data can be simplified, such as, for example, with regard to the combination of individual audio data streams to multi-channel audio data streams or the general manipulation of an audio data stream, by modifying a data block in an audio data stream divided into data blocks with determination block and data block audio data, such as by completing or adding or replacing part of the same, so that the same includes a length indicator indicating an amount or length of data, respectively, of the data block audio data or an amount or length of data, respectively, of the data block to obtain a second audio data stream with modified data blocks. Alternatively, an audio data stream with pointers in determination blocks, which point to determination block audio data associated to this determination blocks, but distributed among different data blocks, is converted into an audio data stream, wherein the determination block audio data are combined to contiguous determination block audio data. The contiguous determination block audio data can then be included in a self-contained channel element together with their determination block.