Why convert MP3 to WAV?
Some audio editors, DAWs, and older hardware devices require uncompressed .WAV input and will not accept MP3. Burning audio to a standard CD also requires uncompressed PCM. WAV is the standard interchange format when passing audio between applications, even when the original source is lossy.
How to convert MP3 to WAV
Audacity OPEN-SOURCE
Open your MP3 in Audacity, then use File > Export Audio and choose WAV (Microsoft) / Signed 16-bit PCM.
VLC media player FREE
Go to Media > Convert/Save, add your MP3, select the Audio - WAV profile, and click Start.
Command line - ffmpeg CLI
Run ffmpeg -i input.mp3 output.wav - ffmpeg is free and available on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Programs that convert MP3
About these formats
.MP3
MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III
An MP3 file is a compressed audio recording - a song, podcast, audiobook, or ringtone. Almost every device plays it without extra software: double-click on Windows to open Media Player, on…
Open .MP3 details →
.WAV
Waveform Audio File Format
A WAV file is an uncompressed digital audio file introduced by Microsoft and IBM in 1991. Double-click one and it plays in Windows Media Player, macOS Music/QuickTime, or VLC on any system.…
Open .WAV details →Quality & what to watch
- Converting MP3 to WAV does not recover lost audio data - the WAV is a larger, uncompressed copy of the same audio quality.
- File size increases roughly tenfold - a 4-minute MP3 at 128 kbps (~4 MB) becomes about 40 MB as a 16-bit 44.1 kHz stereo WAV.
- MP3 metadata such as artist name, title, and album art may not transfer to the WAV file automatically.
