Can someone explain the WAV lossless audio format?

Mac
1

I keep seeing audio files labeled as WAV and described as lossless, but I’m confused about what that actually means compared to MP3 or FLAC. I’m trying to decide the best format for archiving my music and editing audio projects, and I don’t want to lose quality or waste storage for no reason. Can someone break down what the WAV lossless format really is, how it works, and when I should use it?

2

WAV lossless: what it is, in plain terms

WAV is an audio file format from Microsoft and IBM. Technically it is a container, but most of the time when people say ‘WAV’ they mean uncompressed, lossless PCM audio stored in that container.

Quick version:

  • It stores the raw audio samples with no quality loss.
  • No psychoacoustic tricks, no bitrate guessing, nothing thrown away.
  • Big files, simple structure, easy for software and hardware to read.

Where WAV gets used

From what I have seen in real workflows:

  1. Recording and editing

    • DAWs and editors default to WAV for recording because it is lossless and fast to read/write.
    • Typical studio settings: 24‑bit, 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz, stereo WAV.
    • If you are editing podcasts, voiceovers, or music mixes, raw source is usually WAV or AIFF.

  2. Archiving “masters”

    • People keep final mixes as WAV, then export compressed versions (MP3, AAC, etc) from those.
    • Reason is simple. You throw away quality once, not every time you render.

  3. Broadcasting and post production

    • TV, radio, film post, game audio pipelines stick to WAV for production versions.
    • You avoid extra artifacts while moving between tools.

  4. System sounds and apps

    • Many apps on Windows use WAV for simple beeps, alerts, samples, because the format is straightforward.

Advantages of WAV lossless

From using it daily:

  1. No quality loss

    • What leaves the DAW is what is in the file.
    • Good for later editing, EQ, compression. You are not amplifying codec artifacts.

  2. Fast to process

    • Decoding is trivial. No heavy CPU decode step.
    • Helpful on low power machines or large sessions with many tracks.

  3. High compatibility

    • Every major OS, DAW, and player understands PCM WAV.
    • Hardware recorders and mixers often record to it by default.

  4. Flexible

    • Handles multiple channels, high bit depths (24‑bit, 32‑bit float), high sample rates.
    • Works well for surround stems, stems for film, etc.

Disadvantages of WAV

The downsides hit you as soon as you start moving files around:

  1. Large file size
    Rough estimate:

    • Stereo, 44.1 kHz, 16‑bit CD quality:
      About 10 MB per minute.
    • Stereo, 48 kHz, 24‑bit:
      About 17 MB per minute.
      A one hour stereo show at 24‑bit 48 kHz lands around 1 GB.

  2. Weak metadata support in some tools

    • WAV stores metadata, but support is inconsistent.
    • Some players ignore tags or mess up album/artist fields.
    • For tagging music libraries, FLAC or AAC usually behaves better.

  3. Not great for streaming

    • File size is the blocker.
    • Services and web players prefer compressed formats.

So the pattern is: use WAV for recording, editing, archiving masters. Use compressed formats for day‑to‑day listening or sharing.

How to play WAV on macOS

QuickTime Player itself opens WAV already. You can double click a WAV in Finder and it usually opens in QuickTime with no extra install. Elmedia Player is a different app, not a plugin inside QuickTime.

How I use Elmedia with WAV on Mac

Install Elmedia Player

  1. Install it like any other Mac app.
  2. After install, launch it once so macOS registers it as an available player.
  3. Open WAV files with Elmedia
    Option 1: Drag and drop
  • Drag your WAV file from Finder into the Elmedia window or dock icon.
  • It starts playing immediately.
    Option 2: From the menu
  • Open Elmedia.
  • Click File, then Open.
  • Select your WAV file and confirm.

What Elmedia is like and where it helps

From regular use:

  1. File support

    • Handles WAV, FLAC, MP3, AAC, MKV, MP4, and more.
    • I stopped chasing codecs on macOS once I installed it.

  2. Playback controls

    • Adjustable playback speed for transcribing or practicing music.
    • A‑B loop to repeat a section, useful for learning licks or checking edits.
    • Audio delay offset if the sound is slightly out of sync with video.

  3. Network features

    • Streams local media to devices that support AirPlay, DLNA, or Chromecast.
    • Handy if you have speakers or a TV and a folder of WAVs on your Mac.

  4. Interface

    • Cleaner than VLC in my opinion.
    • Less clutter than many “all‑in‑one” players.

Downsides from my use:

  • Advanced audio routing is limited compared with pro tools.
  • Some features are behind a paid tier, so read the details before relying on it for something specific.

Playing WAV on Windows

  1. Install PotPlayer
  2. Run the installer, skip any extra offers.
  3. Start PotPlayer after installation.

Play a WAV file
Option 1: Drag and drop

  • Drag the WAV from File Explorer into the PotPlayer window.
  • It plays right away.

Option 2: Open from the player

  • Open PotPlayer.
  • Right click in the main window.
  • Click Open File.
  • Choose your WAV.

Option 3: Set PotPlayer as default for WAV

  1. Right click a WAV in File Explorer.
  2. Click Open with, then Choose another app.
  3. Pick PotPlayer, tick “Always use this app to open .wav files”, confirm.

How PotPlayer behaves with WAV

What I noticed while using it on a Windows desktop:

  1. Codec handling

    • Plays standard PCM WAV out of the box.
    • Handles odd sample rates, multichannel audio, and different bit depths without complaining in most cases.

  2. Detailed settings

    • Tons of audio and video options, down to filter graphs and output modules.
    • You can tweak audio output, resampling, and processing more than with something like the default Movies & TV app.

  3. Lightweight playback

    • Starts quick on older machines.
    • Uses less RAM than some bloated suites in my experience.

  4. Playlist and library features

    • Handles long playlists of WAVs.
    • Simple to queue multiple albums or project stems.

Pain points:

  • Menus look dense. The number of options confuses new users.
  • UI feels like old Windows software, which some people dislike.

If you deal with WAV a lot for work, I would:

  • Keep WAV for recording and archiving.
  • Convert to FLAC or AAC for portable listening.
  • Use Elmedia on Mac or PotPlayer on Windows as your “does almost everything” player, leave QuickTime and the Windows default apps for quick checks only.
2 Likes
3

Think of WAV as “raw PCM in a simple box.”

Quick breakdown for what you asked, focused on archiving and editing.

  1. What “lossless WAV” means
    WAV is a container from Microsoft.
    Most of the time people use it for PCM audio with no compression.
    Lossless here means every sample from the recording is stored.
    No data thrown away like MP3 or AAC.
    If you record 16‑bit 44.1 kHz stereo, the file will be about 10 MB per minute.
    If you record 24‑bit 48 kHz stereo, around 17 MB per minute.

  2. WAV vs MP3
    MP3 is lossy.
    It removes parts of the sound based on psychoacoustic models.
    You get much smaller files.
    You also get artifacts if you edit heavily, re‑encode multiple times, or use low bitrates.
    For archiving and editing, MP3 is a bad idea.
    You want all the original data intact before EQ, compression, etc.

  3. WAV vs FLAC
    FLAC is lossless compression.
    Think “zip for audio, but smarter.”
    It keeps bit‑perfect samples like WAV, only smaller.
    Typical size reduction is about 30 to 60 percent vs WAV.
    So a 1 GB WAV album might be a 400 to 700 MB FLAC.
    You can convert FLAC back to WAV with no quality loss.

Where I slightly disagree with @mikeappsreviewer is on archiving.
For long term storage, FLAC is usually a better choice than WAV.
Reasons:
• Smaller files, easier backups.
• Robust metadata tagging, album art, etc.
• Widely supported by players and tools.

I keep this rule for my own stuff:
• Recording and editing session files: WAV.
• Final master for long term archive: FLAC.
• Listening and sharing: MP3 or AAC at a decent bitrate.

  1. For your use case

If you are editing audio:
• Record and edit in WAV (24‑bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz).
• When done, export a “master” in WAV.
• Convert that master to FLAC for storage.
• From that FLAC or WAV, export MP3 for portable devices.

If you are archiving music you already have as WAV:
• If they are true lossless sources, convert to FLAC to save space.
• Use a tool like dBpoweramp, foobar2000, XLD, etc.
• Make sure you do lossless FLAC, not any lossy mode.

  1. Playback tools

On macOS:
QuickTime will open WAV.
For wide format support and better control, Elmedia Player is a solid option.
Handles WAV, FLAC, MP3 and more, and does playlists and casting.
I prefer that over juggling multiple small players.

On Windows:
VLC, foobar2000, PotPlayer and others all handle WAV and FLAC fine.
No need to stick to one, pick what fits your workflow.

If your priority is future proof archiving and editing:
• Work in WAV.
• Store in FLAC.
• Distribute in MP3 or AAC.

That way you keep quality, save disk space, and avoid redoing work later.

4

Think of WAV as: “all the audio data, none of the compression tricks.”

@​mikeappsreviewer and @​yozora already covered the basics really well, so I’ll just hit the parts that matter for choosing formats and push back on a couple of points.

1. What “lossless WAV” actually is

WAV itself is just a container, but 99% of the time people mean uncompressed PCM inside it:

  • Every sample is stored exactly as recorded
  • No bitrate, no quality slider, no psychoacoustic model
  • 16‑bit / 24‑bit depth, 44.1 / 48 / 96 kHz etc

So: WAV = raw numbers. If your DAW outputs a sample value of 12345, that number is literally in the file. That’s what “lossless” means here.

2. WAV vs MP3 vs FLAC in practice

MP3

  • Lossy compression
  • Throws away data that is “less audible”
  • Great for portable listening
  • Terrible as a working format for editing and re‑exporting
  • Every re‑encode = more damage, even at high bitrates

If you care about editing or long‑term archiving, MP3 is just “final delivery only.”

FLAC
This is where I slightly disagree with @​mikeappsreviewer’s “keep everything as WAV” vibe.

FLAC is still lossless, just compressed:

  • Think “zip for audio” but designed for PCM
  • Saves ~30–60% space vs WAV
  • Decodes back to bit‑identical PCM
  • Much better metadata: tags, artwork, etc

So on disk:

  • WAV = big, simple, sometimes dumb about tags
  • FLAC = smaller, smarter, just as good sonically

For archiving, FLAC usually wins unless you’re in some picky broadcast or hardware chain that only eats WAV.

3. For your use case: editing & archiving

If you’re editing audio (music, podcast, VO, whatever):

  1. Record and edit in WAV

    • 24‑bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz is the sweet spot
    • Working in WAV keeps CPU overhead low and keeps all your headroom

  2. When you’re done:

    • Export a final “master” as WAV from your DAW
    • Immediately convert that WAV to FLAC for long‑term storage
    • From that master, make MP3 / AAC for phones, streaming, etc

If you already have a pile of WAV files and you’re thinking about archiving:

  • If they’re from CDs or studio sources:
    → Batch convert to FLAC with a decent tool (foobar2000, XLD, dBpoweramp, etc)
    → You’ll keep the exact same audio, just save a ton of space
  • If they’re from MP3s that someone “converted to WAV”:
    → They are already lossy, keep them as MP3 or re‑rip if you can

4. Metadata & library stuff

One thing both of them hinted at but I’ll be more blunt about: WAV metadata is a mess.

  • RIFF tags, INFO chunks, ID3, BWF, etc
  • Different players support different schemes
  • You can end up with albums showing “Unknown artist” even though you tagged them

FLAC, on the other hand:

  • Has solid, consistent tagging
  • Artwork embeds cleanly
  • Most music managers handle FLAC way better

So if you care about a clean library, WAV as an archive format will annoy you eventually.

5. Playback & tools

You don’t need anything exotic to play WAV, but since you mentioned editing and archiving:

  • On macOS

    • QuickTime will play WAV, but it’s bare‑bones
    • For a more capable player that handles WAV plus FLAC, MP3, video formats, playlists, and network streaming, Elmedia Player is a very solid pick
    • It’s nice to have one app that happily plays your raw WAV mixes and your compressed library without complaining

  • On Windows

    • VLC, foobar2000, PotPlayer, etc, all handle WAV and FLAC fine
    • I’d lean foobar2000 for library + conversion, and something like PotPlayer if you also care about heavy video playback tuning

6. Simple decision guide

If you want a tl;dr you can actually act on:

  • Recording & editing sessions:
    → WAV (24‑bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz)

  • Long‑term archive of finished tracks / albums:
    → FLAC

  • Everyday listening / sharing / sending to friends:
    → MP3 or AAC at a decent bitrate (like 256 kbps or higher)

  • Never do this:
    → Edit in MP3, save as MP3, re‑edit, re‑save, repeat
    That’s basically photocopying a photocopy until it looks like mud.

Do that and you’ll have quality where it matters, space where it matters, and files that still make sense in 10+ years.

5

Think of it as two separate decisions:

  1. What format is best for working on audio right now.
  2. What format is safest for keeping it long term.

WAV answers (1) really well. FLAC usually answers (2) better.

Where I differ slightly from @yozora and @himmelsjager is that I would not treat WAV as the final long‑term format unless you have a specific workflow that absolutely wants WAV (broadcast delivery, some older hardware, very strict studios). For a personal archive, FLAC wins in practice: smaller files, consistent tagging, and no quality loss when you convert back to WAV for a new project.

Where I differ a bit from @mikeappsreviewer is that I would not bother keeping both endless WAV “masters” and FLAC of those same files unless you have critical work where you must follow a client spec that says “deliver and retain WAV.” In most home and indie scenarios, a properly made FLAC is effectively your master. If you ever need WAV again, you decode the FLAC and get the exact same samples.

So a clean, future‑proof setup could be:

  • Capture & edit: WAV, 24‑bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz inside your DAW.
  • When done: export one final WAV per track or mix.
  • Immediately convert that WAV to FLAC, store the FLAC as your archive copy, and do not repeatedly re‑encode from MP3.
  • Create MP3 or AAC only as disposable listening copies.

On the playback side: @mikeappsreviewer already went into players in detail, but if you are on macOS and bouncing between raw WAV mixes, FLAC archives, and random MP3s, having a single player that just opens everything without complaints is nice. That is where Elmedia Player is handy in real life.

Pros of Elmedia Player:

  • Plays WAV, FLAC, MP3 and video formats without codec hunting.
  • Good for long playlists when you are checking a batch of mixes.
  • Casting and network playback are useful if you want to hear your lossless files on other devices.
  • Interface is cleaner than some of the very “tweaker” oriented players.

Cons of Elmedia Player:

  • Some advanced features sit behind a paid tier, so it is not all free.
  • It is not a DAW replacement, so no serious editing or loudness metering.
  • Fewer ultra‑deep audio routing options than some power‑user tools on Windows.

Personally I keep WAV inside the project folders with my DAW session files, and FLAC as the “library” that I actually browse and back up. Elmedia Player handles that library on my Mac, while the raw editing work always happens in the DAW with the original WAVs. That splits the difference between what @yozora, @himmelsjager and @mikeappsreviewer suggested without locking you into huge, messy WAV collections for everyday listening.