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MP3 — or any other audio file. The WAV is made in your browser, never uploaded.Video and audio are processed in your browser by FFmpeg (ffmpeg.wasm), free software under the GPL-2.0-or-later and MIT licenses — licenses & source.
About converting MP3 to WAV
MP3 is packed audio: small, and it plays everywhere. WAV is the same sound unpacked into plain samples, with nothing to decode.
Most of the time you want the MP3. But some programs and devices only take WAV: many audio editors and samplers, programs that burn audio CDs, radio and announcement systems, some game engines and sound modules.
This tool unpacks an MP3 into a 16-bit WAV. The sample rate and the channels stay the same as in the MP3, so the WAV plays at exactly the right speed. Everything happens in your browser — the file is never uploaded.
Features
- 16-bit PCM WAV — the plain kind of WAV that every program can open
- Same rate and channels — a 44.1 kHz stereo MP3 gives a 44.1 kHz stereo WAV
- Same length — the WAV starts and ends where the MP3 does
- Other formats too — FLAC, M4A, OGG, or an MP3 at another bitrate
- Listen first — play the MP3 and the WAV on the page
- Private — converted on your device, never uploaded
How big will the WAV be?
A WAV file has no packing, so its size is simple: samples per second × 2 bytes × channels. A stereo MP3 at 44,100 Hz becomes a WAV of 176,400 bytes per second — 10.58 MB a minute. That is why the WAV is about 4 to 11 times bigger than the MP3, depending on the MP3's bitrate:
| Length | MP3 128 kbps | MP3 192 kbps | MP3 320 kbps | WAV 44.1 kHz stereo | WAV 48 kHz stereo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 minute | 0.96 MB | 1.44 MB | 2.4 MB | 10.58 MB | 11.52 MB |
| 3 minutes | 2.88 MB | 4.32 MB | 7.2 MB | 31.75 MB | 34.56 MB |
| 4 minutes | 3.84 MB | 5.76 MB | 9.6 MB | 42.34 MB | 46.08 MB |
| 10 minutes | 9.6 MB | 14.4 MB | 24 MB | 105.84 MB | 115.2 MB |
| 60 minutes | 57.6 MB | 86.4 MB | 144 MB | 635.04 MB | 691.2 MB |
1 MB = 1,000,000 bytes. A mono MP3 gives a mono WAV, half the size of the stereo column. The WAV's size does not depend on the MP3's bitrate — only on its length, sample rate and channels.
Does WAV sound better than MP3?
No. When the MP3 was made, some detail was left out to save space. Turning it into a WAV cannot bring that detail back. The WAV sounds exactly like the MP3 — it is just unpacked, so programs can read it more easily.
If you have the original recording (a CD, a WAV or a FLAC), convert from that instead. Use this tool when the MP3 is all you have, or when a program simply needs WAV.
Making a WAV for an audio CD
An audio CD holds 44,100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo sound. Most MP3 music is 44,100 Hz, so the WAV from this page is already in the CD format.
- Check the sample rate: some MP3s are 48,000 Hz. Most CD burning programs change the rate for you.
- An audio CD holds about 80 minutes. That is 80 × 10.58 MB = about 847 MB of WAV files.
What people use it for
- Opening a song in an audio editor or sampler that only reads WAV
- Burning an audio CD that plays in any CD player
- Adding music or a voice-over to an announcement or radio system
- Using a sound in a game engine or on a small sound module
- Giving a transcription or analysis program the plain samples it wants
Good to know
- The WAV is 16-bit PCM. That is the most common kind and fits everything above.
- Very long files take a lot of memory: one hour of stereo WAV is about 635 MB, and the browser holds the whole file. Several hours may be too much, mostly on a phone.
- Phone systems often want 8,000 Hz mono WAV. This page keeps the MP3's own rate, so check what your system needs.
- The first conversion downloads the converter (about 30 MB) once. After that it starts at once.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the WAV so much bigger than the MP3?
An MP3 packs the sound and leaves out details people hardly hear. A WAV stores every sample as a plain number, 44,100 times a second for each channel. Nothing is packed, so it is about 4 to 11 times bigger, depending on the MP3's bitrate.
Will the WAV be 44.1 kHz?
It has the same sample rate as your MP3. Most music MP3s are 44,100 Hz, so the WAV is 44.1 kHz too. A 48,000 Hz MP3 gives a 48 kHz WAV.
Can I convert a WAV back to MP3?
Yes — use WAV to MP3. Keep the original MP3 if you can, though: each new MP3 loses a little more detail.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The conversion runs on your own device, inside this page. The file never reaches a server.
Related tools
- WAV to MP3 — the other way: a big WAV to a small MP3
- MP3 Cutter — cut the MP3 before you convert it
- Audio Converter — any audio format to MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG or FLAC
- Bulk Audio Converter — many MP3 files to WAV at once, in one ZIP
- Merge MP3 — join several MP3 files into one first
How to use it
- Click Click to upload, or drag your MP3 file onto the box
- WAV is already selected as the format
- Press Convert to WAV — the first run downloads the converter
- Play the result to check it
- Click Download WAV
