Waveform Audio (WAVEFORMATEX)

Partly documented

audio

Waveform Audio (WAVEFORMATEX) is an extended version of the Waveform Audio file format, and was developed by Microsoft. It has superseded the Waveform Audio (PCMWAVEFORMAT).

Identify it

Extensions	`.wav.wave`
MIME types	`audio/x-wav`
Signatures	`52494646` at byte 0 (Waveform Audio (WAVEFORMATEX))
PRONOM	`fmt/142`
Wikidata	`Q61707565`

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Open it

Listed for the family; check that the software handles this version.

A Better CD EncoderOpen sourcewrites · Artistic License 1.0 / GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
AndroidOpen sourcereads and writes · Apache Software License 2.0 / GNU General Public License, version 2.0
ArdourOpen sourcewrites · GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
FFmpegOpen sourcereads and writes · LGPL-2.1-or-later / GPL-2.0-or-later
Free Lossless Audio CodecOpen sourcewrites · 3-clause BSD License / GNU General Public License, version 2.0 / GNU Library General Public License, version 2.0
libsndfileOpen sourcereads and writes · GNU Lesser General Public License
Q141647665Open sourcewrites · Apache Software License 2.0 / MIT License
Q141674392Open sourcereads and writes · Apache Software License 2.0 / MIT License
Q1849222Open sourcereads and writes · BSD licenses
Q191782Open sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
Q240192Open sourcewrites · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
SoXOpen sourcereads and writes · GNU General Public License
SpleeterOpen sourcereads and writes · MIT License
Apache TikaOpen sourcereads · Apache Software License 2.0
ExifToolOpen sourcereads · Artistic License / GNU General Public License, version 1.0 or later
GodotOpen sourcereads · MIT License
JHOVEOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License
Kid3Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License / GNU General Public License, version 2.0 or later
Music on ConsoleOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
mutagenOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
NulloyOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
OpenPuffOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License
Q117725Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 2.0
Q20474100Open sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
sigrokOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License
SongRecOpen sourcereads · GNU General Public License, version 3.0
The Freesound ProjectOpen sourcereads · Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported / Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported / Creative Commons CC0 License
VLC media playerOpen sourcereads · GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 or later
AgfaPhoto DC-833mwrites
aTube Catcherwrites
FL Studiowrites · proprietary license / shareware
GoldWavewrites · shareware
Mathematicareads and writes · proprietary license
Q139816213writes
Roland FP-90Xreads and writes
Screencamreads and writes
Sound Forgewrites
Sound Forge XP 3.0reads and writes
Sound Forge XP Studioreads and writes
thousand tunes playerreads and writes · proprietary license

And 43 more in the JSON record.

Convert it

To	With	Fidelity	Command and losses
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) 1.2.1	FFmpeg	Lossless	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.flac` Lossless for decoded audio; a lossy source stays as degraded as it was. WAV may reduce bit depth or drop metadata.
Matroska 1-4	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.mkv` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
MPEG 1/2 Audio Layer 3	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.mp3` Lossy re-encoding.
MPEG-4 Part 14	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.mp4` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.
Ogg	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.ogg` Lossy re-encoding.
WebM	FFmpeg	Lossy	`ffmpeg -i in.wav out.webm` Re-encoded with lossy codecs by default; try `-c copy` to remux without re-encoding when the codecs fit the container.

Documentation

kaitai grammar: https://github.com/kaitai-io/kaitai_struct_formats/blob/master/media/wav.ksy

Sources

From Kaitai Struct format gallery, PRONOM, Wikidata. Updated 2026-10-24.

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