Convert AAC to WAV
We turn AAC into WAV right in your browser — the file never goes to a server.
What you will lose
- Title, artist and cover art will be lost: the target format does not carry them reliably.
How they differ
| AAC | WAV | |
|---|---|---|
| Lossless | no | yes |
| Lossy | yes | no |
| Multichannel | yes | yes |
| Tags | yes | no |
| Released | 1997 | 1991 |
| Author | MPEG | Microsoft, IBM |
AAC
Good at
- Noticeably better than MP3 at the same size
- The native format for Apple gear and most phones
- Handles multichannel audio and tags
Awkward about
- Older devices and car stereos may refuse it
- Lossy — the original cannot be recovered from it
- Encumbered by patents, unlike Opus
Use it when
- Listening on a phone without wasting quality
- A voice memo, or a track pulled out of a video
- You want a balance between size and sound
WAV
Good at
- Lossless and uncompressed: what was recorded is what is stored
- Opens instantly in any editor, nothing to unpack
- Works as a master for further processing
Awkward about
- Enormous: a minute of stereo is about 10 MB
- Tags exist on paper but not everything reads them
- Usually too big to send by email
Use it when
- Editing or processing is coming and quality must not drop
- A short fragment: an interface sound, a sample
- The file is for a program, not for a listener
Common questions
- Does the file get uploaded to a server?
- Yes, this pair needs the server: browsers cannot encode that format. The file and the result are deleted within a couple of hours and never shared.
- Will surround sound survive?
- Yes, WAV carries more than two channels — 5.1 stays 5.1.
- Can I get the original quality back afterwards?
- Nothing is lost, but nothing is gained either. WAV stores exactly what AAC hands over, including the gaps AAC left behind when it compressed. No tool can bring those back, and the file grows several times over. This conversion makes sense for editing, not for quality.
- How many files, and how large?
- Up to 10 files at a time, 200 MB each. No sign-up, no watermarks.