WAV vs MP3: How Do You Make A Choice Between Them?

Let's start with a brief introduction of WAV and MP3 formats.

WAV: WAV is an audio file format developed by Microsoft and IBM for storing raw and typically uncompressed audio. This means it can record every bit of the source audio and that leads to its large file size. It is mainly used on the Windows system.

MP3: MP3 is a coding format for digital audio that uses lossy data compression to encode data. The compression works by discarding the audio frequency that most humans cannot hear, hence allowing a large reduction in file sizes. It is accessible on all media devices.

Also read: FLAC vs WAV | AIFF vs WAV | OGG Vorbis VS MP3 | 320kbps vs FLAC

The difference between MP3 and WAV comes from many aspects. Read the following information to get deeper understanding of the two formats.

1.Bitrates

WAV: 1411 kbit/s at 16 bit

MP3: 32kbit/s - 320 kbit/s at 16 bit

Note: Bit rate is the number of bits used per unit of time to represent a continuous medium. The higher the bit rate, the better the fidelity.

2.Compression Ratio

WAV: Uncompressed

MP3: Usually, an MP3 file of 128, 160, and 192 kbit/s represent compression ratios of approximately 11:1, 9:1, and 7:1 respectively.

3.Sound Quality

WAV: Equals to a CD-audio quality

MP3: The sound quality of MP3 correlates mostly with the bitrates. With the bitrates higher, the quality could get better, but even the highest 320 kbit/s cannot be on par with WAV. But unless you have sharp ears and use fancy headphones, it can be hard to tell the difference between MP3 320kbps and WAV.

4.File Size

WAV: Large. An WAV file of CD-audio quality would produce approximately 10M per minute.

MP3: Much smaller.

The size is related to bitrates, as well. A higher bitrate would generate a larger size.

Since each format has strengths and weaknesses, they serve different purposes. As we all know, WAV has CD audio quality and generally large file size, so it is not popular as an Internet sharing file. Instead, it's great for source audio archiving and editing. As for MP3, it wins most people's favor due to its light weight, decent sound quality, and ease of distributing/streaming over the internet.

In short, if you are not a demanding audiophile, MP3 is enough to give you a good listening experience. But if you're a professional sound engineer or broadcaster, you'd better use WAV files for all testing and editing to ensure the best possible audio.