What is a WAV file?
WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) was introduced by Microsoft and IBM in 1991. Almost every WAV holds plain uncompressed PCM samples: CD-quality stereo uses about 10 MB per minute. There is no compression to undo, which is why audio editors, samplers and broadcast systems prefer it.
WAV is the right format for editing, mastering and archiving masters. It is the wrong format for sharing or streaming, where FLAC gives the same sound in half the space and MP3, AAC or Opus in a tenth.
| Extensions | .wav, .wave |
|---|---|
| MIME type | audio/wav |
| Compression | None (PCM) |
| Size | ≈10 MB per minute (44.1 kHz stereo 16-bit) |
| Max file size | 4 GB (RIFF limit) |
| Developed by | Microsoft & IBM, 1991 |
ConvertCove writes 16-bit PCM WAV, the most compatible variant.
Convert WAV to…
Every conversion listed works in the converter above: add a WAV file and pick the target format.
Convert to WAV from…
Detailed guides: WAV to MP3
Part of the audio converter · all formats.