WAV File: All You Need to Know

What is a WAV file? Should you use it for audio files? Check the basic information about it in this article.

WAV files are used in the music production industry. What is it? Is it good or bad? Should you use it for your audio files? Let's dive into the basic information about the WAV format.

WAV File Format

What is a WAV file? WAV is an audio file format standard developed by IBM and Microsoft. It is used for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. Though a WAV file can contain compressed audio, the most common WAV audio format is uncompressed audio in the linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format.

The WAV files are uncompressed and large, so personal users won't normally share audio over the Internet in this format. However, since the WAV format offers a high resolution (and thus a high quality), many audio and music software manufacturers now favor it as their default file format.

WAV File Player

Many multimedia players support playing WAV files. Here are some commonly used ones:

1. EaseUS RecExperts - It plays WAV, AVI, FLAC, MP3, and OGG audio files at different speeds. Besides, it can trim the original file.

2. VLC Media Player - This is a cross-platform and multifunctional program that can play and convert audio/video files.

3. Windows Media Player - It is a built-in WAV file player that can open the WAV file without downloading any codec for WAV playback.

WAV File vs. MP3

In a word, MP3 files have been compressed, so they can be much smaller than WAV and may lose some data. Meanwhile, WAV files are usually lossless and have a bigger file size than MP3. Check more details below:

WAV Pros:

• Easily work with any kind of audio podcast editing software
• Retain every sound effect to ensure a high quality
• Suitable for recording an audio file at home

WAV Cons:

• The file size is large
• Incompatible with some services and devices

MP3 Pros:

• Offer a smaller size than WAV
• Comaptible with a wide range of software and services

MP3 Cons:

• It is compressed and may lose sound quality
• The audio can pick up unwanted sounds during compressing

Convert WAV File to MP3

There are many online tools you can use to convert a WAV file to an MP3 format. Here is a list:

• CloudConvert
• FreeConvert
• Convertio
• Zamzar
• Online Audio Converter