All about WAV files

WAV files are used to store audio signals – such as music or voice recordings. WAV files are uncompressed, so they offer a perfect quality at the cost of a really huge file size. They usually contain PCM-signals based on Microsoft’s Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF).

Before the advent of mp3, WAV was often used to store (but not share) music. The file format is widely compatible with basically every software and hardware audio player. Quality of the audio signals embedded in a WAV file depends on the resolution (expressed as Bits) and sampling rate (expressed in Hz). Audio-CDs, for instance, rely on 44,100 Hz at a resolution of 16 Bits (or higher in the case of SA-CDs). Lower audio qualities result in audible distortions.

A downside of WAV is the fact that audio files are roughly ten times as large as MP3 files while not offering an audible difference in sound quality (to most humans). WAV also does not allow storage of ID3 tags which limits its use in contemporary audio playback software. WAV files are suitable, however, to store uncompressed audio in the highest possible quality for further editing.

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Details about WAV files

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MIME-type for WAV

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