WAV (Waveform Audio File Format)

WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) was introduced by Microsoft and IBM in 1991 and is based on the RIFF container. It normally holds uncompressed PCM audio, so it keeps every detail of the recording, but a few minutes of CD-quality stereo already take tens of megabytes. Almost every audio editor, operating system and device can open it.

Use WAV for recording, editing, mastering and exchanging audio between studio tools, where quality must stay untouched. When you need to share or store large amounts of audio, FLAC gives the same quality in smaller files, and MP3 or AAC are best for casual listening.

Source formats: .wav, .wave