What is the WAV file format?
.wav files are used for saving audio data.
Contents of .wav files
Files with a .wav extension store audio tracks with variable sampling rate and bit depth. The standard for audio quality in .wav is dual-channel audio sampled at 44.1 kHz with 16 bits per sample, which is the standard coding format for CD audio. .wav files are supported by many codecs, but the most commonly used is lossless PCM. The maximum size of a classic .wav file encoded in PCM is 4 GB, because chunk sizes are stored as 32-bit integers; the RF64 and BWF extensions remove this limit for professional and broadcast use.
Uses of .wav files
.wav files typically store uncompressed audio tracks, this being the reason for their significant size, which is not web-friendly. .wav's capacity for storing uncompressed, high-fidelity audio makes it the format of choice for many professional applications, such as audio software or professional music production, for example:
- recording studios
- radio broadcasters
- advertising agencies
.wav is not a complex format and is used as the default audio format for many applications, including in Windows systems. Many popular audio editing and playback programs support .wav files by default.
Can I compress a .wav file?
High-quality audio data stored in .wav files can be converted into other popular audio formats such as MP3 (lossy) or FLAC (lossless). When converting to a lossy format like MP3, some audio data is permanently discarded, but the output file is significantly lighter, which saves disk space. Converted files can be easily distributed over the Internet.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWA WAV is inert sampled audio and is safe to open - it does not execute. The only notable historical risk was a 2019 steganography trend where attackers hid malicious payloads inside WAV audio, but the WAV itself still has to be processed by separate malware to be dangerous; a normal media player just plays sound. Watch out for fake "WAV converter/player" download sites bundling adware (PUPs): prefer VLC, Audacity, or ffmpeg from their official pages.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open WAV files
Windows3 apps
VLC media player
Open-source Drag the .wav onto VLC, or right-click > Open with > VLC. Plays any WAV variant. 
Media Player (Windows 11)
Built-in Double-click the .wav - the built-in Media Player app plays it immediately. 
macOS3 apps
Linux2 apps
VLC media player
Open-source Open the .wav in VLC (or any GStreamer-based player like GNOME Videos). 
Audacity
Open-source Open/edit the waveform; export to compressed formats. Available as Flatpak/AppImage. 
Android1 app
VLC for Mobile / Files app
Open-source Tap the .wav in the Files app (built-in playback) or import into VLC. Technical details
deep spec| Container format | RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format), chunk-based binary structure |
| Byte order | Little-endian; big-endian variant (RIFX) exists but is rare |
| File signature | `RIFF` at bytes 0-3, `WAVE` at bytes 8-11 (hex: 52 49 46 46 … 57 41 56 45) |
| Default audio codec | Uncompressed linear PCM (format tag 1); no lossy processing applied |
| Supported format tags | PCM (1), IEEE float (3), A-law (6), mu-law (7), WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE (0xFFFE) for multichannel and high-res |
| Sample rates | 8 kHz to 192 kHz; most common are 44.1 kHz (CD) and 48 kHz (broadcast/video) |
| Bit depth | 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit per sample |
| Channel support | Mono, stereo, or multichannel; up to 18 channels via WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE |
| Typical file size | ~10 MB per minute at CD quality (44.1 kHz / 16-bit / stereo) |
| Maximum file size (classic) | ~4 GB, constrained by 32-bit chunk size fields; RF64 (EBU) removes this ceiling |
| MIME type | `audio/wav`; alternatives include `audio/wave`, `audio/x-wav`, `audio/vnd.wave` |
| Key internal chunks | `fmt ` (sample rate, bit depth, channels) and `data` (raw samples); optional `LIST/INFO`, `cue`, `bext` chunks |
| Compression | None in standard PCM form; container can carry ADPCM, GSM, A-law/mu-law, or MP3 via non-PCM format tags |
| Metadata support | `LIST/INFO` chunk for basic tags; `bext` chunk (Broadcast Wave Format) adds timecode, originator and broadcast metadata |
| Released | 1991 (Windows 3.1 / Multimedia PC) |
| Latest version | RIFF/WAVE with WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE (2001); RF64/BWF extensions for >4 GB |
| Open standard | Yes · royalty-free |
| Specification | learn.microsoft.com |
WAV conversions
Community Q&A
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