WAV (Waveform Audio File Format)
WAV is an uncompressed audio format that stores raw PCM (pulse-code modulation) audio data. It provides bit-perfect audio quality with no compression artifacts, making it the standard for audio production, recording studios, and any workflow where quality cannot be compromised.
MIME Type
audio/wav
Type
Binary
Compression
Lossless
Advantages
- + Bit-perfect uncompressed audio with zero quality loss
- + Universal support in all audio editors and DAWs
- + No decoding overhead — instant playback
- + Standard in professional audio production
Disadvantages
- − Very large files — about 10 MB per minute at CD quality
- − No built-in metadata tags (no standard title/artist/album fields)
- − 4 GB file size limit in standard RIFF format
When to Use .WAV
Use WAV for audio recording, editing, and mastering where lossless quality is required; convert to MP3 or FLAC for distribution.
Technical Details
WAV uses a RIFF container with a 'fmt ' chunk describing the audio format (sample rate, bit depth, channels) and a 'data' chunk containing raw PCM samples. CD-quality audio is 44.1 kHz, 16-bit, stereo (~10 MB per minute).
History
Microsoft and IBM introduced WAV in 1991 as part of the RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) specification for Windows 3.1. It became the standard uncompressed audio format on PCs.
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