What you should know
WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) is Windows' native audio format, derived from the RIFF container. It stores sound uncompressed, sample by sample, making it a faithful copy of the recording.
It is the working format of studios and journalists: editing, cleanup and mixing happen in WAV, and the final export goes to a compressed format once the work is done.
Strengths
- Lossless: an exact copy of the recorded signal
- Read universally, including by professional software
- Ideal for editing and audio processing
- Compatible with every sample rate and bit depth
Limitations to know
- Very large files: roughly 10 MB per minute at CD quality
- No standardised metadata like MP3
- Impractical to send or store in large quantities
- A poor-quality WAV stays poor: the format repairs nothing
When to use it
Work in WAV to record, edit or clean up sound. To listen, send or archive a library, convert afterwards to MP3 (light) or FLAC (compressed lossless) depending on whether fidelity or size matters more.
Quality, size and compatibility
Converting WAV to MP3 or FLAC is the initial encode: the only moment where quality is truly chosen. From a WAV, aim for FLAC if you want to keep the whole signal, or MP3 at 320 kbps if size comes first.
Frequently asked questions
- Why are WAV files so large?
- Because nothing is compressed: every second of sound is described in full. One minute at CD quality takes about 10 MB, against 1.4 MB in MP3 at 192 kbps.
- WAV or FLAC for archiving?
- Both are lossless, but FLAC roughly halves the size. Choose WAV for maximum compatibility with old tools, FLAC for storage.