FLAC to WAV converter
Unpack a lossless FLAC into a standard 16-bit WAV that any editor, DAW, or CD burner will open without complaint. Conversion happens in your browser — the file never touches a server.
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FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) squeezes audio down to roughly half its raw size without discarding a single sample, while WAV stores that same audio as uncompressed PCM. Converting FLAC to WAV just decodes the compression back into raw samples — the sound is bit-for-bit identical, the file simply gets larger and becomes readable by almost anything. It's closer to unzipping the audio than re-encoding it, so there's no generational quality loss to worry about.
You reach for a FLAC-to-WAV converter when something in your production chain refuses to open FLAC. Plenty of hardware samplers, older DAW versions, CD-burning apps, and video editors either reject FLAC outright or decode it slowly, whereas an uncompressed WAV loads instantly and scrubs cleanly during tight edits. Producers also convert to WAV when a mastering engineer, a distributor's intake form, or an archive spec explicitly asks for uncompressed PCM rather than a compressed lossless format.
How it works
- 1
Drop the FLAC file.
- 2
Click convert.
- 3
Download the WAV.
When to use it
- You archived your finished Suno masters as FLAC to save drive space, and now need to reopen one as WAV to add a vocal take or remaster it in your DAW.
- A mastering engineer or a distributor like DistroKid or CD Baby asks for uncompressed WAV/AIFF on their intake, so you unpack your lossless FLAC before uploading.
- You're burning a physical demo CD, and the Red Book audio-CD standard needs 16-bit 44.1 kHz WAV rather than the FLAC your burning software won't import.
FLAC vs WAV
| FLAC | WAV | |
|---|---|---|
| Lossless | Yes | Yes |
| Typical size | Medium (~50–60% of WAV) | Large (uncompressed) |
| Best for | Lossless archiving | Editing, DAWs, mastering |
| Compatibility | Most modern players | All editors & players |
FAQ
Does converting FLAC to WAV change the audio?
No — both are lossless, so the samples come out identical. WAV simply stores them uncompressed, which roughly doubles the file size.
What happens to 24-bit hi-res FLACs?
This tool writes standard 16-bit WAV, so a 24-bit source is down-converted to 16-bit — fine for most playback, but keep the original FLAC if you need the full bit depth.
Why is the WAV so much bigger than the FLAC?
FLAC uses lossless compression to pack the same samples into less space, usually 40–60% of the WAV size. WAV holds raw uncompressed PCM, so a 20 MB FLAC often becomes a 35–45 MB WAV — about 10 MB per stereo minute at 16-bit/44.1 kHz. It's the same audio, just unpacked, not degraded.
Do my FLAC tags and cover art carry over to the WAV?
Usually not. WAV has weak, inconsistent metadata support, so embedded FLAC fields like artist, title, and album art typically don't survive the conversion. Keep the original FLAC if you care about tags, and treat the WAV as your working or editing copy.
Will the WAV be ready to burn to an audio CD as-is?
Only if the source is already 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo — that's what the audio-CD (Red Book) standard requires. If your FLAC is 48 kHz or 24-bit, the WAV inherits those specs, and your burning software will need to resample it down to 44.1/16 first, so check the source before importing.
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