WAV to MP3

The classic size conversion. A three-minute WAV at CD quality is about 30 MB; the same audio as MP3 lands near 4 MB.

Runs in your browser // nothing is uploaded

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What survives the conversion

Derived from what each format is able to store, not from what the conversion promises.

Kept

WAV carries nothing that MP3 can also hold.
ID3 tags, which WAV could not store

Lost

Original audio (lossless)

Settings used

LAME VBR at -q:a 2, roughly 190 kbps average. Transparent for most listening.

When not to convert

Not for a master you will edit or re-export. Keep the WAV as the source.

About these formats

Audio

What is a WAV file?

WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio, so it is a bit-exact record of the waveform with no encoding loss at all. That makes it the standard working format for recording and editing, and a poor choice for distribution: roughly 10 MB per minute of CD-quality stereo.

Read the format guide

Audio

What is a MP3 file?

MP3 is the lossy audio format that made digital music portable, standardised as part of MPEG-1 in 1993. Newer codecs such as AAC and Opus sound better at the same bitrate, but nothing matches MP3 for sheer universality: it plays on essentially any device ever made.

Read the format guide

Common questions

Does converting WAV to MP3 lose anything?

Yes. Original audio (lossless) cannot be carried into MP3 and is dropped. The classic size conversion. A three-minute WAV at CD quality is about 30 MB; the same audio as MP3 lands near 4 MB.

Are my files uploaded when I convert WAV to MP3?

No. The conversion runs in your browser tab, so the file is never transmitted and the page works offline once loaded.

What settings does Filoven use for WAV to MP3?

LAME VBR at -q:a 2, roughly 190 kbps average. Transparent for most listening.

When should I not convert WAV to MP3?

Not for a master you will edit or re-export. Keep the WAV as the source.