Difference between WAV and MP3: which is more suitable for what?

WAV and MP3 are the most commonly used audio formats. Superficially, their difference is the file size. In fact, the file types also differ from spectral components in the display accuracy. We explain the differences and the optimal areas of application of WAV and MP3.

MP3 and WAV: the exact difference

MP3 and WAV are both audio formats. They differed in the file size and in the accuracy of the time and frequency display. The number of audio channels and compatibility with playback devices is also an issue:

1. A WAV file, often pronounced "wave file", is usually an uncompressed PCM file.
2. MP3 is a codec. The audio content is the result of a compression that is based on psycho-acoustic findings and is further reduced in the end by lossless compression.
3. In MP3 files, the audio material is divided into several frequency bands. If a frequency band is partially or completely masked by another, ie "drowned out", it is stored with less precision. Accuracy is lost - but hearing hardly notices the difference.
4. Since audio analysis is a prerequisite for creating an MP3 file, it can never be the original format of audio material. Most of the time, audio is cached as a lossless WAV or AIFF file before it is converted to MP3.
5. In a practical tip, we explain in detail what MP3 is all about.
6. A stereo MP3 file achieves the quality of a normal audio CD at 128 kbit / s. A WAV file with PCM content requires about 1, 411.2 kbit / s for this.
7. WAV can store audio content with a sample rate of 1 Hz to 4.3 GHz and theoretically contain up to 65535 audio channels.
8. MP3s are available with 32 kHz, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sample rates. MP3 originally could contain one or two channels. 6 channels are possible since MP3 Surround.
9. Strictly speaking, however, WAV is a container file that can contain compressed audio data in ADPCM or MP3 format in addition to a PCM row for each audio channel.
10. Some MP3 players, especially from the lower price segment, only play MP3 and neither WAV nor WMA. This still applies to some car radios and portable MP3 players. However, many DVD players can handle uncompressed WAV files with one to six channels.
11. In the following pictures you can see how a WAV file generates noise after loud compression after a compression to MP3 and changes the waveform a little.

WAV is suitable for this

WAV is always preferable when high accuracy is required or you want to edit the audio content:

1. When producing music, WAV is your first choice. If you want to make a certain frequency range significantly louder with filters, you could be unlucky with MP3. Perhaps this frequency range is coded so imprecisely that it no longer follows the natural dynamics of the original signal. Then there is noise.
2. WAV files are also significantly more flexible than MP3s. If you want to store more than 6 channels - for example for a 7.1 music performance - use WAV.
3. MP3 is a no-go for analytical measurements: you can never be sure that the encoder did not make a noise.
4. The FLAC format is particularly suitable for storing or transferring a large number of audio files without loss. It compresses the WAV file losslessly by 50 to 60 percent. We'll show you how to save audio CDs as FLAC files.
5. Of course, you can also convert FLAC files directly to lossy MP3. We will show you how in a practical tip and explain the differences.
6. However, please note: If you are one of the few people who can hear the difference in quality between WAV and MP3 even at high bit rates, it is best to avoid MP3 and use WAV or FLAC. Most people cannot hear a difference between the formats.

MP3 is suitable for this

You probably know MP3s from music downloads and your own music collection. This is the strength of the MP3 format:

1. MP3s can achieve a compression rate of almost 90% compared to a WAV file without any audible loss of quality. They are therefore perfectly suitable for large music collections on small storage media.
2. Especially if you encode MP3s correctly according to our instructions, the files sound very good.
3. MP3 is so common these days that most hardware and software support the format. This applies to car radios, smartphones, DVD and BluRay players as well as game and multimedia consoles and of course PC software.
4. If compatibility is not an issue for you, for example because you only play audio files from a PC and your iPhone, you should use the AAC codec. It sounds as good as MP3 with an even smaller file size.
5. If you have an Apple device, you can also use the lossless ALAC format to store audio content losslessly - similar to FLAC.
6. In the screenshot you can see that the MP3 generated some noise immediately before the start of the bass drums. The fine structure of the waveform has changed. What is shown here is hardly audible.

In further practical tips we compare AAC and MP3 and explain the differences in sound between vinyl and CD.