Convert MP3 to WAV
Convert compressed MP3 audio to uncompressed WAV. Ideal for DAW editing, CD burning, and broadcast equipment. Free, in your browser.
.mp3 · up to 100 MB
Why convert MP3 to WAV
From compressed file to professional production standard
DAW compatible
Ableton, Logic, Pro Tools, and all DAWs prefer WAV over MP3 for editing and mastering.
Total privacy
Your audio never leaves your device. FFmpeg.wasm processes everything locally, no server uploads.
Uncompressed PCM
WAV stores pure PCM audio: no codec, no real-time decoding, maximum compatibility.
Instant after first load
The FFmpeg engine downloads once and is cached. All subsequent conversions start immediately.
How it works
Three steps, no hassle
Select your MP3 file
Drag or select your .mp3 file. No registration, no server uploads.
Decoding and PCM conversion
FFmpeg.wasm decodes the MP3 and writes the uncompressed PCM audio into a WAV container. Everything happens locally on your device.
Download your WAV
The resulting WAV file is compatible with any DAW, audio editor, broadcast equipment, or CD burning software.
FAQ
Got questions?
WAV is the standard format for professional audio editing, importing into DAWs (Ableton, Logic, Pro Tools), burning audio CDs, and broadcast equipment. Many music production and voiceover workflows require WAV explicitly because it guarantees absolute compatibility and allows editing without additional layers of compression.
The increase is significant: a 5 MB MP3 becomes approximately a 50 MB WAV — about 10 times larger. This is because WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio: each second of stereo audio at 44100 Hz takes about 176 KB. Make sure you have enough space on your device before converting large files.
No. The resulting WAV is an uncompressed version of the lossy MP3 — the information discarded during the original compression is not recovered. The audio will have exactly the same perceived quality as the original MP3. The benefit is not quality but compatibility: WAV works in absolutely all programs and equipment without depending on decoders.
The main use cases are: importing audio into a DAW or video editor that prefers WAV over MP3, preparing tracks for professional mastering, burning an audio CD (the CD-DA format requires PCM at 44100 Hz/16 bits, which is exactly the standard WAV format), and using audio in broadcast equipment or PA systems that only accept WAV.
Yes. The sample rate of the resulting WAV file is taken from the source MP3. Most MP3 files have a sample rate of 44100 Hz (CD standard), although some may be 22050 Hz or 48000 Hz. The WAV preserves this exact rate without additional conversion.
Yes. The CD-DA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) standard, also known as Red Book (published by Philips and Sony in 1980), specifies uncompressed PCM audio at 44100 Hz, 16 bits, stereo. This is exactly the standard WAV format. To burn an audio CD that works in any CD player, you need WAV files in this format.
MP3 to WAV: PCM digital audio format, DAW workflows, CD-DA specification (Red Book), and broadcasting standards
WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) was jointly developed by Microsoft and IBM in 1991 as part of the RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) specification. The format stores uncompressed PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation) audio — the most direct digital representation of analog sound: each sample is a numerical value representing the amplitude of the sound wave at a given instant. At 44100 Hz and 16-bit stereo (the CD standard), a WAV stores 44100 × 2 bytes × 2 channels = 176,400 bytes per second of audio. This simplicity explains its longevity: three decades after its creation, WAV remains the reference format in professional audio production.
Digital audio workstation (DAW) workflows in Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and Cubase are optimized for WAV. Unlike MP3, which requires real-time decoding during playback and editing, WAV is read directly as PCM data, reducing CPU load and eliminating potential decoding artifacts. In professional mastering, engineers work exclusively with uncompressed formats (WAV or AIFF) to preserve maximum fidelity during processing. The standard pipeline is: receive stems in WAV, process, export as WAV for distribution, then encode to MP3/AAC for final consumption.
The CD-DA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) specification, known as Red Book after the color of the original Philips document folder, was published in 1980 and specifies PCM audio at exactly 44100 Hz, 16 bits, stereo. The choice of 44100 Hz was not arbitrary: it was based on the Nyquist theorem (twice the maximum frequency audible to humans, ~20 kHz) plus a margin for the anti-aliasing filters of the era. Broadcast equipment, professional PA systems, and most audio distribution platforms for radio also specify WAV as the delivery format, making MP3-to-WAV conversion a routine operation in audio production and voiceover workflows.