Converting audio to WAV, and which settings to pick

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• #music
• #files
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• #in-browser

WAV is the plain, uncompressed audio format that almost every program can read. Editors, video software, samplers, DJ gear and game engines all accept it without fuss. That is the main reason to convert to WAV: not better sound, but fewer problems.

When WAV is the right choice

• Editing. Every save of an MP3 or AAC loses a little more quality. WAV does not, so it is the safe format for audio you will cut, mix and export several times.
• Video projects. Editors often struggle with variable-bitrate MP3s, drifting out of sync over long clips. WAV stays in sync.
• Hardware. Samplers, drum machines and older devices often read only WAV, sometimes only at specific settings.
• Archiving a master. Keep a WAV of the final mix, then make MP3s or AACs from it as needed.

For listening, sending to people or putting on a website, a compressed format is usually better. The files are a tenth of the size and most people cannot hear the difference.

Sample rate

The sample rate is how many times per second the sound is measured.

Human hearing tops out around 20 kHz, and a sample rate captures frequencies up to half its value, so 44.1 kHz already covers everything people can hear. Higher rates are useful when recording and processing, not for the finished file.

The most important rule is to match the project. A 44.1 kHz file dropped into a 48 kHz video timeline gets converted on the fly, and occasionally plays at the wrong speed in software that gets it wrong. Converting it yourself first avoids that.

Bit depth

Bit depth is how precisely each sample is stored.

• 16-bit covers about 96 dB of dynamic range, more than a quiet room to a loud concert. It is the CD standard and fine for finished audio.
• 24-bit gives a lot more headroom. It matters when recording, because you can leave space for peaks without the quiet parts sinking into noise. Many editors and video tools work in 24-bit by default.

For a finished file, 16-bit is enough. For anything going into further editing, 24-bit is the safer choice.

Mono or stereo

Speech, voice-overs and single-instrument samples are often recorded in mono. Saving them as stereo doubles the file with two identical channels. Game engines in particular often want mono for sounds that are placed in 3D space, so the engine can pan them itself.

How big WAV files get

Uncompressed audio is simple to size: sample rate × bit depth × channels.

An hour-long stereo recording at CD settings is over 600 MB. WAV files also have a 4 GB limit, which a long multitrack recording at high settings can hit.

Converting an MP3 does not restore it

This is the most common misunderstanding. When an MP3 is made, the encoder throws away detail it judges you will not miss. Converting that MP3 to WAV produces a larger file containing exactly the same sound, losses included. It is still worth doing when a program needs WAV, but it will not sound better.

The same goes for upsampling. Converting a 44.1 kHz file to 96 kHz adds samples in between the existing ones; it does not add detail that was never recorded.

Going the other way

Once editing is done, convert the final WAV to a compressed format for sharing. For MP3, 192 kbps is good for most listening and 320 kbps is the most the format offers. Always convert from the WAV master, not from another MP3, so the losses only happen once.

Convert it

The audio to WAV converter takes MP3, AAC, OGG, FLAC and other formats and saves WAV in 16- or 24-bit, with options to resample and mix down to mono, all in the browser. To change only the sample rate, for example to match a 48 kHz video project, use the sample rate converter, which handles 8 to 96 kHz. When you are done editing, the WAV to MP3 converter makes a smaller copy at the bitrate you choose. More tools are in the audio section.