WAV and AAC explained
WAV stores uncompressed PCM audio — the raw samples, exactly as captured. A stereo CD-quality minute is roughly 10 MB, which is the price of having no compression whatsoever.
AAC is the successor to MP3 and is the default audio codec for MP4 video, Apple Music and YouTube. At the same bitrate it generally sounds noticeably better than MP3.
- Where WAV files come from
- Recording sessions, sample libraries and audio editing.
- Where AAC is used
- Streaming services, video soundtracks and Apple devices.