Guides to MP3, WAV, and everything between

Short, specific answers to the questions that come up when you are converting audio and something does not behave the way you expected.

Most audio format advice is either a sales page or an argument between people who have never run a blind test. These guides try to be neither. Where the answer is boring, it says so. Where people disagree, it explains what the disagreement is actually about.

Start here

• MP3 vs WAVWhich format to work in, which to send, and what each one costs you.
• Does converting improve quality?No. Here is what is happening inside the file, and how to check it yourself.

Step by step

• How to convert MP3 to WAVBrowser, Audacity, VLC, ffmpeg, and Apple Music, with fixes for what goes wrong.
• How to convert WAV to MP3Four methods, choosing a bitrate, and when CBR beats VBR.

Settings and numbers

• Bit depth and sample rateWhat 16-bit, 24-bit, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz change, and what they cost.
• MP3 bitrate guide128, 192, or 320 kbps, and whether anyone can really hear the difference.
• WAV file size calculatorPunch in length and format, get the exact size.
• Batch convertingWhole folders at once, and when to reach for the command line instead.

The short answers, if that is all you need

Converting MP3 to WAV will not improve the sound. The encoder deleted audio permanently. You get a bigger file that sounds the same.

Use 16-bit at the source sample rate. That is right for almost every conversion from an MP3, and it is what the converter does by default.

A minute of CD format WAV is 10.1 MB. Multiply by the minutes and you have your answer. The MP3 bitrate you started from makes no difference.

Encode MP3s from the WAV, never from another MP3. Each pass through the encoder adds damage, and the second generation is where people start to notice.

320 kbps is the MP3 ceiling. Above that you need FLAC, ALAC, or WAV, because there is no higher MP3 setting to reach for.