What is WAV?
Also called: Waveform Audio File Format, WAVE
WAV is an audio file format that usually stores uncompressed PCM audio, so it keeps the full quality of the recording. It is the standard format for recording, mixing, mastering and delivering music.
Because the audio is not compressed, a WAV file is large: a 3 minute stereo song at 44.1 kHz and 16 bit takes about 31.8 MB. In return, it can be edited and re-exported without any loss, and almost every audio program and device can open it.
Distributors, mastering engineers, sync libraries and labels usually ask for WAV files, often at 24 bit. A standard WAV file has a size limit of about 4 GB, which only matters for very long multichannel recordings; variants such as RF64 get around it.
WAV and AIFF are close equivalents: both hold the same kind of uncompressed audio, with small differences in how metadata is stored.
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Convert between WAV, MP3, AIFF and FLAC with your choice of sample rate and bit depth.
Audio File Converter