MP3 vs WAV
WAV keeps every bit of the original recording; MP3 makes it ten times smaller. Here’s when each one makes sense.
| Feature | MP3 | WAV |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy | Usually none |
| Size per minute (stereo) | About 1–2.4 MB | About 10 MB |
| Quality | Very good at 192–320 kbps | Identical to the source |
| Editing | Loses quality with each re-save | No loss |
| Metadata | Rich ID3 tags and album art | Limited |
| Compatibility | Everywhere | Nearly everywhere |
How they differ
A WAV file usually stores audio as raw PCM samples, the same way an audio CD does. For CD quality that means 44,100 samples per second, 16 bits per sample, two channels, which works out to about 10 MB per minute. Nothing is thrown away, so what you play back is exactly what was recorded.
MP3 uses a psychoacoustic model to remove sounds you're unlikely to hear, such as quiet sounds masked by louder ones at nearby frequencies, and very high frequencies. The bitrate controls how much data is kept. At 128 kbps a minute of stereo music takes about 1 MB; at 320 kbps, the MP3 maximum, about 2.4 MB.
Can you hear the difference?
At 128 kbps, trained listeners on good headphones can often hear swishy cymbals, smeared transients or a narrower stereo image. At 192 kbps the difference becomes hard to spot for most people, and at 256 to 320 kbps blind tests show listeners generally can't tell a well-encoded MP3 from the original WAV.
For speech, such as podcasts, audiobooks and voice notes, the bar is lower still. A 64 to 96 kbps mono MP3 sounds clear and makes very small files.
Recording and editing
Recording studios, voice recorders and video editors work in WAV, or AIFF on Macs, for good reason. Every time you decode an MP3, edit it and encode it again, more detail is lost. Effects such as EQ and compression can also make existing MP3 artefacts more audible. Keep a WAV master, do all your editing on it, and export an MP3 only at the end.
WAV files can also use higher resolutions, such as 24-bit and 48 or 96 kHz, which give more headroom while recording and mixing.
Sharing, streaming and storage
MP3 is the practical choice for anything that leaves the studio. It's small enough to email, upload quickly and store thousands of songs on a phone, and every device, car stereo and app plays it. MP3 files also carry ID3 tags for title, artist, album and cover art, which music players rely on.
If you want smaller files without losing anything, consider FLAC, which compresses lossless audio to roughly half the size of WAV.
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Questions
Is WAV better quality than MP3?
WAV is lossless, so technically yes. In blind tests, most people can't hear a difference from a 256 or 320 kbps MP3.
What MP3 bitrate should I use when converting WAV?
320 kbps for music you care about, 192 kbps for everyday listening, and 64 to 128 kbps mono for speech.
Does converting MP3 to WAV improve quality?
No. It only makes the file bigger. Detail removed by MP3 compression can't be restored.
Why are WAV files so big?
They store every sample without compression: about 10 MB per minute for stereo CD-quality audio.